Dragon Knights Snippets
by Animegoil
Summary: Snippet 39: Kaistern sometimes has the worst timing... like deciding to get sick on an embassy, and leaving Tetheus to juggle with cultural problems and Kaistern's persona. Snippets ranging from humor, angst, romance, all kinds of pairings and characters.
1. Storms: KaisternTetheus

**Well, I got the idea from all the drabbles in the Fullmetal Alchemist fandom, but these are snippets, cause drabbles are a 100 words exactly, and mine are longer. So... basically, these snippets are short scenes, usually either humor/romance (yes, that is what most of them are). :thinks: um... Oh, I'm open to any ideas/challenges/suggestions. **

**Disclaimer: If Dragon Knights was mine, I'd be drawing right now, not writing . **

**SnippetWarning:Fluffy Shounen-ai**

**Enjoy!**

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**Dragon Knight Drabbles: Storms**

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Lykouleon knew Tetheus had been in a bad mood lately. A sudden youkai attack in a major city had forced him to make various trips back and forth, arrange military tactics of counter attacks, and dumped an overload of papers on him. All of this had driven the normally cool-headed and calm officer into a fume of bad-tempered glares and frowns.

So when he saw it was pouring outside, Lykouleon really had to pity any poor soul who happened to cross the black officer that night, and accidentally set off that bottled frustration. The former demon would most likely not be very pleased at all to have to do his nightly rounds in the windy, freezing storm, and anyone unlucky enough to irritate him in the slightest was in for a very bad encounter.

Thunder brewed ominously in the darkness of the castle grounds, and Tetheus' eyes flashed dangerously at the sight of the pouring storm, raining like the heavens had let a dam loose. His foot tapped irritably against the stone floor underneath the shelter of the courtyard roof.

But he wasn't going to complain about his job, it was the least he could do for Lykouleon after he'd taken him in, and he had too much pride to whine like Rath did when he had to do his work. He was an adult, after all, a responsible one, and he took his job seriously. Besides, complaining didn't do anything.

Nonetheless, he glared at the crashing curtain of water, hesitant to step out. He hated the rain.

"I don't know about Yokai, but humans catch colds easily when they go out in the rain. So we normally take umbrellas."

Had it been anyone else, the blak officer might have bitten his head off, but he knew the voice. Tetheus whirled around to face a sly-looking Kaistern, hand outstretched with an open umbrella in his grasp. He blinked and stared at the blue officer, hiding his amusement as the other began fidgeting uncomfortably under the iron gaze.

But then he reached out with a nod and small smile and took the umbrella. Kaistern beamed brightly, widening the smile on Tetheus' face a fraction. He turned around, umbrella held up, and stepped out into the rain.

"Um, Tetheus?"

The black officer turned curious crimson eyes on him.

"Can I go walk with you?"

This made him blink. He signaled towards the darkened skies, outpouring rain, "It's horrible weather."

Kaistern smiled almost shyly, answering even though he knew an explanation wasn't actually needed, "Well, I only got back from the trip today. Barely had time to say hello to you earlier, so I wanted to have some time to catch up with stuff…"

Tetheus didn't say anything, but the look in his eyes was enough of a signal for Kaistern, and the blue officer hurriedly took his place next to the black-haired man. Rain fell in torrents around him as Tetheus placed his arm around Kaistern's shoulders, letting the smaller man lean his head contentedly on his shoulder.

Lykouleon was surprised to find Tetheus smiling the next night when he'd excused himself to make his nightly rounds in the rain.

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**Ehem, I have no idea where this came from, and just in case you aren't really into Tetheus/kaistern, the next drabble is a humorous one... can't say about who, cause it'll give it away. **

**Anyway, reviews will be appreciated, and this will most likely be updated rather continously, since they're short and don't require _that_ much effort. Thanks!**


	2. Chase

**Thank you! Already 6 reviews and I only posted this up yesterday! Sweet! **

**Lol, anyway, disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Knights. Unless Mineko Okhami dies and gives her ownership to an random dan that happens to be me, I won't own it anytime soon either. **

**Warnings: None. No language, no shounen-ai. Humorous one. **

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**_Dragon Knight Drabbles: Chase_**

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Ruwalk stepped tersely into the tense Security Office room, saluting Tetheus shortly before speaking.

"I have the containment area ready, Sir," he announced, and the secretary of security nodded distractedly, running narrowed eyes over maps of the Dragon Palace splayed over the large table.

"Where is Kaistern?" Alfeegi asked impatiently, studying the maps at Tetheus' side.

"He's been keeping a lookout for it, but it's escaping every security measure and trap," the brunette officer scratched his head worriedly.

"Alfeegi. What are the most likely exit points?" the black officer barked, his authoritative voice commanding attention, years of commanding soldiers and guards displaying itself clearly.

"Exit A, B, and D," the aquamarine secretary responded automatically, ticking off the points on his fingers. He frowned, "We have to take action soon, before it's too late. If it leaves the castle grounds we'll have no chance of catching it… and if something happens…"

"It'll be alright," Ruwalk assured him, "You just worry too much."

At this moment, the doors burst open,revealing apanting Kaistern leaning on the doorframe.

"It's heading towards the back exit, next to the kitchens!" he paused to catch his breath, silver hair brushing over a thin sheen of sweat on his face, "I would have followed it further, but it was too risky, I would have been seen."

Tetheus nodded, casting one last glance at the maps, "Alright. We have a plan of attack now. Ruwalk and I will corner it from behind, and you will confront it head on, Kaistern. We'll back you. Get a head start."

The albino officer sped off, and Alfeegi followed, "I'll be at the containment area."

Ruwalk and Tetheus nodded to each other and took off as well.

Rath hated taking baths.

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**Yes, I referred to Rath as an 'it'.I was reading something, and in Japanese, the subject noun is sometimes left out or something like it, ending in that people can be called 'it' without it being offensive or rude or anything. And I wanted to do it this way just for suspense and humor. And the drabbles keep getting shorter and shorter...**

**I fixed up this chapter and last, cause they were chock-full of mistakes and errors... **

**Reviewer responses: **

**Reviewer: Next one is Rath/Rune! **

**Puppy: I can't find my writing bunny for my other DK fics! So I'm moving on til i find my bunny again.I thought Tetheus with an umbrella was funy too. **

**Kage Ohkami: Definitely more shounen-ai. Yeah, I don't see Tetheus as the kind to hesitate once he's actually set in something. **

**Crazy meowmeow: Lol. eventually I'll make a Rath/kaistern though, so then they'll belong to each other.**

**Dark Sin: Cool name. Definitely continuing this for a good bit. **

**Kitty2Satan: For the sake of fluff, let's say demons do. And rath's a demon and he got colds... so I guess so. **

**Thanks for everything! Review, hope you liked! **


	3. Golden Hair: RathRune

**Yay drabbles. Yay ppl who review drabbles. Thank you! **

**Disclaimer: As usual. I don't own them. **

**Warnings: Implied shounen-ai. Fluff. Rath/Rune. **

**Enjoy!**

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**_Dragon Knight Drabbles: Golden Hair_**

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Golden hair flowed between pale fingers, gently kneading and threading knots out of the spun gold.

"Thanks," Rune murmured quietly, fondling with the covers of Rath's bed, the younger boy sitting cross-legged behind him, expertly brushing the knots and tangles of his long elven hair.

"Every morning it's the same thing," the short-hairedboy said, but there was no hint of impatience or irritability in his voice, and had there been, his hands would have told otherwise.Every morning, Rune would knock hesitantly on Rath's door, and the crimson eyedboy would open it and ask what he needed. And every morning, Rune would blush a little and say he needed help brushing his hair because it was so long. And Rath would sigh a little, to cover up the small smile on his lips, and pull him in to his room.

"Sorry…" Rune muttered smiling lightly, but he knew the next morning it'd be the same thing. Rath did too.

"Why don't you cut your hair if it's so long…?" thedark-haired youkaiwhispered in the blue-eyed elf's ear, delicately threading the soft gold between his fingers, delighting in the silky sensation.

"Because I like it," the elf said, leaning contentedly against the gentle pull of the fire knight's fingers.

In truth, what he really liked was the feel of Rath's hands gently playing with his hair, the quiet moments they shared every morning, the other boy's slow breathing on his neck before it'd sneak up and kiss it lightly.

It really was a stupid question, because Rath liked it too. He didn't want Rune to cut his hair.

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**There's the so-desired Rune/Rath. Hope you liked it. I love stuff with hair... there's somethign so pretty about hair... The drabbles keep getting shorter and shorter. **

**Crazy meow-meow: Bit obssesive, aren't we? Well I'm an avid suporter of Rath/Kai, so... well, expect some drabble time for them. I'll warn you first laughs. They really are sweet though. **

**Aquajogger: yeah! I should do something with Kharl and a defective experiment... hmm... happy I don't know where that came from. Completely random.**

**Reviewer: There's your drabble! Like it? **

**Dark Sin: I have no idea. I think he really was a 'it' when he was a demon. Or a he, butI doubt a she. The it thing was all for suspense, I was trying to make it seem like a demon invasion. **

**Cairnsy: Ooh, I love your fics! I personally love the slice-of-life scenarios, and that's why I love drabbles. And KaisternxTetheus. And KaisternxRath. Pretty much, Kaistern anyone... whithin a certain range... **

**Kage Ohkami: Yup. Rath as an it really worked out for the little drabble. Hope you liked this one. **

**Anyway, thanks a lot, and I'm open for suggestions, so throw them at me! (gently, please)**


	4. Elven Mischief

**Wow, thanks for everything. Glad it's so liked! **

**Warnings: none. Humorous. **

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**_Dragon Knight Drabbles: Elven Mischief_**

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Delte and Tintled giggled mischievously, glancing at each other before looking at their prey. Green leaves covered their faces, until only a hint of golden and green eyes peeked out from up atop the branches of the large elven tree.

"At the count of three," the faerie princess whispered to the water lights hidden around them in strategic positions. Delte giggled again from her best friend's side, holding up three fingers as a signal for the mystical water lights, holding glowing round objects in their diminutive hands.

Rune was content, peacefully healing a wilted flower, watching it bloom into amazing colors once again and smiled happily. The air was pure, the waterfall only a couple meters away a lulling background roar, the water lapping his feet playfully.

He was curious as to note that there weren't any animals. Normally, there'd be bluejays, robins, all sorts of birds twittering happily on his shoulders, clambering the rocks around them, dodging between hares and foxes.

Today, however, they all seemed to be keeping their distance, as if _waiting_ for something. This reminded him that he himself was waiting for Tintlet and Delte. They'd told him to wait at the waterfall…

"Three!"

With a jump, he became aware of glowing spheres flying towards him, but was too surprised to do anything other than stare, dumbfounded.

_SPLAT_

With the resounding splash, he was suddenly drenched in water from head to toe, golden hairsplattered against his face and sopping clothing. He held out dripping wet hands out to the side, staring at himself before hearing stifled giggling and then something clicked.

"TINTLET! DELTE!"

He understood why the animals had been keeping their distance now.

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**Not so short, this time... I think. Whipped it up in only a couple minutes. Next one is Gil/Ram. **

**Responses: **

**Kage Ohkami: Fluff galore! **

**Crazy meowmeow: Lol. Well, I'll try my best to make it very very fluffy when I actually write it. My KaisternRath are usually quite angsty though... check out Bittersweet Sword to get what I mean... Obssessive is fine!**

**Puppy: Yeah, pity they are short. It's what makes me able to update them though... Yeah, I'll do Ruwalk Alfeegi sometime. Gotta come up with something though. **

**Kitty2Satan: if you want, I'll email you some good fics. Check some out by Cairnsy and Akisawana. Fave authors. Tell me what pairings you like and I'll see if I can recommend some other good fics too. **

**Dragonness Fei: KaisternTetheus is cute! I like Kaistern Rath too... -happy- Thanks a lot! Hope you liked this one! **

**Reviewer: Anything else you might want? Glad you liked it!**

**Aquajogger: ... O.o I think that's just a BIT out of my range... Lol! Oh, and I fixed the crimson thing. You're right, I did. Thanks for telling me that! maybe Delte hasspell that keeps her hair short... or maybe Rune likes looking girly. **

**Capella Alpha Aurigae: Wow, thanks for writing that out so politely instead of flaming me for the pairings you didn't like. Actually, I like the DK girls too. I guess I just have a thing for shounen-ai... hehe... anyway, i will write straight pairings too though, so don't worry about that. I did lose inspiration for my Gil/Ram fic... trying to regain it, as a matter of fact. My writing bunny ran away on all my other stories, and is only coming back for new ones... -sad- Next drabble is Gil/Ram though. Thanks for the comment and support though! Hope you liked this drabble. **

**Thanks for everything! As usual, suggestions are totally welcome, they are themakers of drabbles! They get my gears working! No KaisternXFaerie Elder though... -cracks up- **


	5. Fish: Gillaam

**Back again, with the anticipated Gillaam! **

**Warnings: Kinda angsty and fluffy. **

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Dragon Knight Drabbles

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Gil had developed a strong hatred for fish.

It brought too many memories. Memories of decades ago, when Barl still had been little, and he'd still been human. When they'd played in the woods, gone camping in the mountains. Always, they'd bring fishing poles and bait, and spend hours catching fish, him, Barl and their father. Then at night, they'd go back to their mother at the campground and cook the fish to a tender perfection, and eat it happily, as a family. His brother and him would sing children's song, and smile happily as their parents snuggled lovingly against each other.

It was the perfect family. All lost as he was captured and turned into a youkai. A visual reminder to add to the haunting emotional and mental reminders of dreams and thoughts.

That was why he hated fish now. He'd refused to eat it even when it had been the only thing Nadil's army would grudgingly toss at him to keep him from starving to death.

But when Raamgarnas served him fish that night, Gil only looked at it for a moment, then at Ram's proud, smiling face, and took a bite.

He'd never forgotten how good it was to eat with someone you loved.

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**I know that wasn't exactly what you were waiting for... but I'll make a fluffier one with them two sometime. If you really like Gillaam, I wrote a fic with them. All angst and fluff (it's what I seem to do best, anyway) **

**Kage Ohkami: I'll see about that Rune/Thatz/Rath. Definitely not out of my range, i just have to think of something good. never done them before, but have been thinking about it. **

**Puppy: I'll write another Gillaam sometime too. Yeah, Rune does get picked on a lot! **

**Black Angel of Destruction: yay! **

**Capella Alpha... etc lol: Politeness makes the author consider your opinions a whole lot more than a flame. I just laughed at my flamers. They read one of my fics, where I CLEARLY stated the pairing, and flamed me for it... (still ticked off, as well as amused) Anyway, I'll write more with Tintlet and the other girls sometime. Any shounen-ai pairings you do aprove of, though?**

**Crazy meowmeow: Lol. Actually, Delte is my favorite female character. Anyway, for Ruwalk/Feegi, try Akisawana, her fics are REALLY good, and REALLY angsty. And for Rath/Cesia... i don't read many of those. I did write a fic with them as one of the pairings... called Possessed by a Memory... and that one is Alfeegi/Ruwalk too actually, and Thatchel. Aquajogger has some nice Rath/Cesia's too actually. Hers are good, so try reading them! **

**Kitty2Satan: Well, if you think of anything, drop a word! **

**Reviewer: I might do a rather long Rune/Thatz sometime, just cause I don't know how to simplify it. And Feegi Ruwalk'll come sometime too. **

**Dragoness Fei: We pick on Rune cause we love him! **

**Eek, responses are longer than the drabble... embarrasing. Anyway, thanks for the reviews! **


	6. Fortunetelling: ThatzDelte

**I have been corrected -bows to Blue Film- Drabbles are 100 word stories. Most of these go well over 100. So they're not drabbles -swetadrop- No problem. I am officially calling these short scenes 'Snipets!' So on to the snipet!**

**Warnings: Fluff. No shounen-ai **

**Enjoy! **

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_Dragon Knight Drabbles: Fortunetelling_

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Every time he looked at her, she blushed.

Delte couldn't help it. There was something so _entrancing_ about his bright, earnest hazel green eyes. A liveliness and joy, infinite care and sensitivity that shone in them in endless depths. She would find herself staring back in them before realizing what she was doing and turning away embarrassedly. He only laughed quietly and went back to whatever he'd been doing at the moment.

It was this train of thought that was keeping her from focusing on the book in her hands, as she lay curled up in bed, attempting to read by the waning light of the sunset.

There was a knock on the door, and despite its softness, the curly-haired faerie jumped, startled. Hurriedly leaving her book splayed on the covers and scrambling to the door as she smoothed her dress, she finally opened the door, only to find Thatz standing in front of her.

"Hey," the amiable smile froze her in her tracks.

"Hi," she managed to respond without stuttering, though she was sure she'd come close.

"I was wondering if you could do me a favor…" Thatz leaned on her doorframe, indolently smiling and melting her where she stood, a mere foot away from him.

"Of course!" she said immediately, "What do you need?"

"Well, I need you to come with me for a moment…" he explained vaguely, and without waiting for her answer, took her hands and pulled her out. She followed without question, but her gaze strayed to their interlocked hands and she felt an irrepressible blush streak across her face.

"Sunset's pretty, isn't it?" he motioned to the almost-gone orb of light as they stepped outside into the courtyard. She brushed a strand of light pink hair from her face, and nodded.

Thatz smiled gently and walked on, signaling for her to follow into the gardens. The fresh, airy perfume of flowers made her take a deep breath, then look at the earth knight in front of her. She smiled lightly, feeling at peace in the gentle twilight atmosphere, "So what did you need?"

"Well, I needed some help reading my fortune…" there was a flicker of something in his eyes, mischief, or… nervousness? She couldn't tell.

"Oh! Then I need to go get my cards!" she exclaimed.

He caught her arm as she was about to swirl around and head back to the castle. He watched her clear green eyes for a moment, then grinned again, "Nah, you don't need cards to answer my question."

"Oh… Oh!" her eyes widened as she suddenly found herself being held gently but firmly in his arms, a lean hand lifting her face up.

"What do you think my chances are with a certain faerie fortuneteller?" he murmured, holding her gaze intensely. The light-haired faerie was too shocked to do anything more than stare breathlessly at him, feeling her pulse quickening and her face heating up.

"Do you think if I kissed her she'd kiss me back?" he smiled softly.

She nodded.

So he kissed her.

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**Aw... personally, I love Delte. And I can so see Thatz with her. I also like Thatz/Kitchel though, so don't worry bout that... and I like Delte/Tetheus, though there's no basis for that in the manga, that's just something i'm playing with in one of my fics. And Tetheus/Kitchel. Lol. **

**Responses:**

**Blue Film: thanks for the correction. I didn't know there was a technical name to them. And I know you mentioned 'flashfic' but I like calling them snipets (since I don't think that's already a technical name, is it?) -laughs- everyone seemed to like my tetheus/kaistern snipet. I'll definitely write more of them, they're an awesome couple. And Alfeegi Ruwalk I'll have some eventually too. **

**Aquajogger: My computer woudln't show the last two reviews, but I wanted to update then anyway, so sorry about not responding! I love your imagery in your writing, it's soo pretty. I like Tintlet and Delte as funny or sweet. The way I see them, anyway... I'll have more with Tintlet soon too. I bought book 18 Can't wait til Gil comes back though! **

**Dragoness Fei: Really? You liked that? I thought there wasn't nearly enough fluff or anything... On book 18 there's officially a 'Everybody Pick on the Elf Day'! **

**Capella: You know my last name is Copello? and ppl often mispell it Capella? I found that amusing. Either your term is spreading or I think I've heard it before. I think I have. But in any case, it's the coolest word! oh, I'll check out your fic when I can too! Once again, I'm surprised the Gillaam went over so well, since it really wasn't that much... I'm prouder of my comfort in the snow fluff scenes. lol. I might do some angst orientedsnipets later though. And i'll do some of those pairings sometime too. OOH OOOH And the bated breath thing? Mu orchestra teachers said that and I yelled out in the middle of class "HEY! I heard that the other day!" well, read, but I didn't wanna go explain myself. He just stared at me. **

**Crazy meowmeow: Well, Gil DID like fish. And now he does again, lol. **

**Puppy: That's what I like about drabbles/snipets/etc. That they're short but sweet. **

**Kage Ohkami: RAWKS MY SAWKS! I squealed when I saw that. That's SO COOL! **

**Eikou: I tend to use a good bit of suspense with humor. Not always, but it's great with these snipets. **

**ANYWAY! **

**If any of you really liked the Gillaam, you're welcome to check out my Gillaam fic 'Comfort in the Snow' It's really angsty and really fluffy and doesn't have Ram and Gil making out by the middle of the first chapter. -laughs- someone once made a comment on that. **

**If anyone likes Thatz/Delte, Tetheus/Kitchel, Rath/Kaistern, kaistern/tetheus friendship, lots of Alfeegi/Ruwalk, and anything with Rath when he was little, check out Bittersweet Sword. Angst and romance too. **

**Kitchel/Thatz, Delte/Tetheus, Rath/Cesia and Alfeegi/Ruwalk and hinted Rune/Tintlet, then check out Possessed by a Memory. Oh, and I accidentally put some Kaistern/rath hints in that one, but Rath's with Cesia, lol. **

**That's my self-advertising, since lots of you are asking about pairings and where to find them, and stuff, so I'm giving you some of mine. tata, hope you enjoyed the snipet! **


	7. Protection: RuwalkFeegi

**Hiiii! Back! And with backup! Blue Film has offered to beta me, so from now on, all my snipets will have been scrutinized by her-laughs-**

**Warnings: Fluff, angst... **

**Enjoy! **

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**_Dragon Knight Snippets: Protection_**

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Alfeegi was the one Ruwalk wanted most to protect. It was much too late for Rath, who had lost his innocence tragically, and for both Kaistern and Tetheus, naïveté was a luxury they couldn't afford with their dangerous work.

But Alfeegi still had a certain amount of innocence and naïveté, born from years of living inside protective castle walls, and it was something Ruwalk wanted desperately to keep.

He had failed.

It was raining, and the streets of Draqueen were damp, abandoned and ominous in their darkness.

As he watched the aquamarine-haired officer staring in confusion and sorrow, all he could do was kneel besides him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Why?" he choked out. Copper eyes looked troubled as they glanced at the familiar face in this unfamiliar setting.

"Why do people _do_ this? She never did anything wrong! She's only seven… not much older than Rath was when we first found him…"

Alfeegi was also the one who had clung the tightest to the memories of Rath's now-distant childhood.

"…I don't know…" the brunet answered honestly after a moment of quiet contemplation, squeezing his fellow officer's shoulder gently. His face softened, watching with a painful twist in his heart as the sea-haired officer let the raindrops mingle with the few diamonds that had escaped their prison in his eyes.

Alfeegi's empathy often made him the most sensitive of them, and that, coupled with his naïveté and his habit of wearing his emotions on his sleeve, had made it an devastating shock when his eyes had been opened to one of humanities numerous sins: Wrath.

Wrath that lead to vengeance, then to murder, and in the act, the murder of an innocent bystander. It was impossible for Alfeegi to comprehend why the body of a little girl lay mangled on the streets in front of him.

As rain fell in a comforting cloak around them, Ruwalk was once again aware that he had failed in shielding Alfeegi from the darker sides of humanity—something he suddenly realized had been overly naïve on his part as well. So he did the only thing he could think of to ease the burden.

He hugged him.

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**Ne? They're so cuute... **

**Responses: **

**Kage Ohkami: yay, you liked! I'm personally very fond of Thatz/Delte... if you wanna check out some more, Bittersweet Sword's chapter 8 (and the last bit of 7) is dedicated practically all to Delte and Thatz, and IMHO, I think it came out really sweet. And i doubt you really have to read the rest of the fic to understand those two chapters. **

**Blue Film: thank you once again! OH, and I'll see if I can do a Kit/Tetheus pairing snipet! By the way, also, in Bittersweet Sword, chapter 9 is all in Tetheus POV, and is a Kitchel/Tetheus if you wanna read it. It's quite... interesting... since it goes into my imagination of Tetheus' childhood as well O.O ... **

**Dragoness Fei: Wow, you really liked it... read kage ohkami's response above if you wanna read any more of my Thatz/Delte, cause I adore them. **

**Puppy-eats cookie- yum! Thank you! **

**Crazy meowmeow: I'm glad you read it anyway! And here's the reward for that: Your Alfeegi/Ruwalk! **

**Capella: You know... i'm considering doing that Saabel/Nadil one... it shoudln't be too far out of my range... now I just gotta read the books again to re-see those sections... -begins flipping through books- And thank you, by the way-happy-**

**Fireun: You read them! yay! My queen of drabbles read these -happpy- And you liked them too, thanks! **

**Aquajogger: Lol, thank you! Oooh, and you DID read Possessed by a Memory... wow. I'll be updating that one... sometime... gaaaaaaah... **

**Zircon-flattered- thanks! I'll work on PbaM sometime... -sweatdrop- I have the general plot down, I just gotta actually spend a couple hours writing it... and all my other fics... eeeeeek-runs away-**

**THANK YOU... next snipet's coming out very very shortly... I just gotta get off the computer now.. **


	8. No Fair: TetheusKaistern

**Waaah, I actually finished this one a while ago, but didn't post it up cause I had no time... busy busy week... **

**Warnings: Implied shounen-ai, but nothing else. **

**Enjoy!**

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_**Dragon Knight Snippets: Not Fair**_

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Tetheus ate his lunch quickly and efficiently, then left the table. Normally, he would linger there for a while longer, listening to the often amusing and entertaining tales of the Blue Officer. But, as it was, Kaistern was currently not at the castle, leaving Tetheus with no reason to postpone his job.

What he did do, however, was go outside and stand beside the kitchen exit and, leaning against the wall, begin to look over some files and reports.

For a couple minutes, nothing happened, and only the occasional rustling of paper was heard.

Then the pattering sound of small footsteps and soft snickers reached his ears, and Tetheus' hand suddenly shot out in time to catch a red blur that flew past.

"Wha- Tetheus!"

The Black Officer held up the squirming child with one hand.

"Aaaw! I don't wanna go to my lessons!" The petulant wail made Tetheus' lips twitch upward.

"You know better than to try to sneak off from your studies," he responded neutrally.

"Aw, but Alfeegi's so _meeeean_!"

In truth, he meant strict, but to a young, hyperactive child like Rath, there was hardly a difference. The pint-sized knight thrashed about wildly, uselessly trying to wriggle out of a grasp that could choke demons ten times larger than he was.

Walking calmly back inside, Tetheus dragged a struggling Fire Knight behind him, changing positions abruptly to tuck him firmly under one arm. Rath wailed, whined and complained quite audibly, to no avail, as all he was doing was amusing the Black Officer.

Suddenly, Rath pouted and crossed his arms, huffing lightly. "No fair, you let Kaistern skip out on his work just to be with _you_."

Tetheus paused, considered this for a moment, and let Rath go.

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**Didja like? **

**Responses:**

**Puppy: Here's the next one! Hope ya liked! **

**Reviewer: I'm glad you liked them. I always think of Thatz assaying ... cute lines or something. Clever, cute things. **

**Kage Ohkami-congratulates- yes you have read all my stuff! Yay! I inspired you! I'm always gettig ideas and stuff from other ppl's fics. **

**Eikou: This one didn't have that much angst, unlike that last one,but there will be some more soon! **

**Capella: I'll get to Saabel eventaully. I just have to reread the books. Apparently, I'm pretty good with pairings, cause a lot of ppl -points at aquajogger in particular- say that I'm the only they'll read some pairings of. You, Feegi/Ruwalk, and her Thatz/Delte and Kitchel/Tetheus. lol. I don't say that to brag or anything, cause I'm sure there's other ppl there who could do pairings of these that you would like. **

**Blue Film: Thanks! Did you really read Bittersweet-laughs- flangst... that's a new terms... sounds like cake. **

**Crazy meowmeow: Snipet-rubs bite- Ouch. Me: Well, the girl... she got killed accidentally because someone was trying to kill someone else for vengeance and she got in the way or something. I didn't really elaborate on it. **

**Aquajogger: Thank you! Your reviews are so amusing to read. I'm glad you like my stuff, makes me happy! **

**Yokai no Miko: Nope, you're not the only one! And as stated in the last drabble, if you wanna read more of Thatz/Delte, read chapters... well, the end of 7, (but for that you might as well just read all ofit) 8, of Bittersweet Swordcause it's all Delte/Thatz. Aquajogger'll testify she liked it -laughs- **

**Anyway, thanks a lot, and see you next snipet! Thank you also to Blue Film, who is beta-ing me! tata!**


	9. Forget: NadilSaabel

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**Weeeell... I've finally got around to reading that Saabel/Nadil part, and this is what came out. I still think I was on crack when I wrote this, but Blue Film can tell you, since I was talking to her as I was writing this. And she beta'd it too, which ... my stuff isn't the easiest to beta, and she does so and nitpicks all the stupid little details i'm too immersed in writing the thing to notice. So thank you!**

**Warning: Angst, yaoi, though not explicit, but you can just guess.C'mon, it's Nadil/Saabel! That's messed up enough as it is. Oh, and this snippet is a good bit longer than most. **

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_Dragon Knight Snippets: Forget_

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This feeling… of being terrified… felt familiar. He was so frightened it was getting hard to breathe, and his body was beginning to shake uncontrollably.

Saabel couldn't place it, though. He couldn't remember an instance where fear was etched so deeply in his mind, making him shiver and his stomach clench nauseatingly.

What was w_rong_ with him? His mind was screaming at him that all he was doing was reporting to Lord Nadil… and yet… he drew in a shuddering breath. Why was he so scared? Hadn't he done this a ton of times before? He idolized Lord Nadil, for Dusis' sake, he should be _excited_ about going to see him.

Although… now that he thought about it, he hadn't reported to Lord Nadil in a good while now, which was odd, because he clearly remembered going to the castle to report… the green-haired youkai paused, suddenly confused.

There was a gap in his memory. He recalled riding atop Garaba, heading toward the castle … and then what happened? Scanning his mind, the next thing he could remember was waking up the day after back in his forest… feeling like shit.

His head reeled as he realized that he was in front of the youkai Lord's room, and he hesitated before reaching out to knock, his hand trembling incessantly. What was _wrong_ with him? The mental berating wasn't helping any though, and he just couldn't find the courage to open the door.

So when it flew open in his face, and he was staring into hypnotic rubies, he jumped back, startled.

"Saabel… I've been waiting for you…" his smooth, cold voice sent a chill down the water youkai's spine, but at the same time, made his heart beat faster in anticipation. He tried to will his eyes to tear away from those entrancing crimson eyes, but it was in vain and he could only stare.

A pale hand reached out to stroke his cheek and despite his surprise, Saabel leaned into it instinctively, even as his body trembled and the fear in his stomach rose.

"Lord… Nadil…?" he murmured confusedly. His lord only smiled coldly, leaning over to put a hand behind the small of his back and lead him into his room.

Something was tugging at Saabel's mind… misplaced images… a voice that sounded familiar, yet far off… his head pounded sharply, and he groaned lightly and reached up to rub his temple. Damn headaches…

"Is something the matter?" his lord asked, and for a second, Saabel thought he'd seen … a hint of knowing in his eyes, but his sight had blurred at that moment, so he couldn't be sure.

"Of course not, my Lord," he said, straightening up immediately. The biggest fear in his life was letting Lord Nadil down, and being cast away from his side. His whole life revolved around pleasing his Lord. Hell, he practically _revered_ Lord Nadil… scratch that, he thought, he _did_ revere him. He couldn't deny it, he was hopelessly infatuated with him.

But the fear hadn't lessened, and the pounding in his head was making him struggle to keep from wavering as he stood straight. The violet-haired youkai gave him a measuring look, and then smiled as if pleased with what he saw.

"How are you?"

Saabel blinked, not expecting such a mundane question, or the almost curious tone… in fact, he could have almost said it was mildly concerned.

"Er, alright, I guess…" he trailed off.

"Good… you are invaluable… Saabel…"

The way his name slipped so softly from his tongue made Saabel's face heat.

The violet-haired youkai stepped closer, lifting a hand up to gently take a strand of Saabel's hair.

"You are… quite beautiful…" Saabel's eyes widened at the words and gasped as he was pushed onto his Lord's bed. Nadil's body pinned him forcibly down, and the green-haired demon found himself slipping into a shocked daze at the sudden contact of lips pulling hungrily, tauntingly at his, and the feel of hands running searchingly down his chest. Darkness, there was darkness, and there was light. What was his Lord doing…?

"Beautiful…"

Saabel's mind surged with memories, and clear green eyes widened—this wasn't the first time this had happened. He drew in a sharp breath and his mind reeled with a flood of memories. He finally understood the blanks in his memory. They'd been erased.

"You always remember around this time."

"L-Lord N-Nadil…" he breathed out, his hand clutching the sleeve of the larger youkai above him. But he was only pushed back harder, and with a chill, noticed that his shirt had been stripped off, his bare skin exposed to the wandering hands of his Lord. Hands that traced patterns in fire, sending all of Saabel's senses into overload, and his mind could only wrap itself around one thought… Lord Nadil… and he…

Nadil cupped his chin lightly, and those magnetic violet eyes looked at him directly, "You have a choice," he murmured, leaning in to nip his ear lightly, his breath warming Saabel's neck and making him moan lightly. His body trembled.

Yes, he remembered, he had a choice whether to let his Lord do this or not… but the consequences of denying were clear—he'd be killed, or even worse, cast out from Nadil's army. He closed his eyes and relaxed his body into submission, and could feel Nadil's smirk against his throat. He remembered. He always had a choice, and he always let Nadil do as he wished. After all, how could he refuse something that gave him so much pleasure, even of it brought pain, physical as well as amotional,along with it?

Why would he give up the one opportunity to be the only thing Nadil thought of? The way violet eyes only saw him, the way only _his_ name slipped out from the youkai king's lips… Saabel drank it all in, even knowing that all he was only a toy, that he was being used.

The worst thing about it, he thought, tracing his finger lazily through the covers as his body arched in response to the hands that wove through him, the lips that crushed against his bruisingly, the heaviness of the body on top of his...the worst thing, he repeated to himself, was that there was a part of him that enjoyed this. He liked knowing that he was special to his Lord, despite the fact that he hated everything about the youkai, there was something that inevitably drew him in. He liked that the youkai's eyes were focused only on him, even if it was only because of lust. It was… a bittersweet feeling, but what could he do? He would never… deny his Lord…

But tomorrow, he would wake up back in his forest and have forgotten all of this, never suspecting what had gone on far into the night, left wondering why he felt so sick.

It was probably better that way anyway.

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**... It really is an odd thing... but there it is, for Capella! Next i have a Ruwalk and Rath one, and then a Tetheus/Kaistern, and am brainstorming for a Ruwalk/Alfeegi : )**

**Angstluver: I'll aim for that Rath/Kharl. I think they're an odd pairing, but all the indications are in the manga that Kharl seems to have something... for Rath... I actually like this pairing, to a certain extent, so I'll see what I can come up with. **

**Shadowdown: Thank you! Raamgarnus, laamgarnus, same person but Ram is the japanese name. **

**Kage Ohkami: Yup! How could Tetheus ever refuse? **

**Crazy meowmeow: Hm... Rath/Tetheus... now that's interesting You're a bit possessive of Rathease off, he's not going anywhere, it doesn't hurt to share. Lol. In your head he can always be all yours, right? **

**Cairnsy: I loooove Tetheus/Kaistern. And Rath/kaistern. And your fics :) I got the snippets inspiration from Fireun, though hers are FullMetal Alchemist and X/1999, and hers are AWESOME. The endings are SOOO cool, there's always a catch line for the ending or something, and that's somethign I really liked about her drabbles, so I'm trying to use that in my own snippets. **

**Capella: yes, well, I like Rath with red hair. And I'll ask Blue Film about what his official hair color is in the Mineko Okhami's site... Anyway, here's your Nadil/Saabel... I'm sure it's not quite what you were expecting, however... but I really don't know what else to do with them, they're just plain.. weird... I think I'm going to play with them a little more eventually though. Kurama's hair is cool laughs**

**Poco-poco: Thanks! **

**Aquajogger: Hotmail is odd.. gives aprhensive glancebut I prefer it over any other email service. LOL! That sounds like something that would hjappen to me! Me and my friends will be hanging out, and i'll randomly be reminded of something from some fic or a manga! I will do a couple sad/angst ones, they won't be all humor, cause contrary to what you seem to think, I really am not too good at it. **

**Dragoness Fei: There's gonna be a coupel Ruwalk/Alfeegi ones sooner or later, though not all happy... And there's a couple Kaistern/Tetheus snippets on their way! happyI adore them! **

**eikou: I adore Rath as a little kid. There's sooo many snippet potential with that. I mean we could have a separate snippet on his bugging the he11 out of each one of the officers, and rune, and sneaking off, and him in his lessons, and just all the random stuff that little kids do. I have an 8 year old hyperactive cousin for inspiration. The DEFINITELY say the weirdest things... and when you talk politics in front of them.. it's quite amusing the random things they'll input. **

**Anyway, next snippets won't be so out there, for any who didn't enjoy that, but I did give you warning on the oddness of it, so no flames. **


	10. Getting in the Mood: RuwalkFeegi

**Hiiiii! Another Ruwalk/Alfeegi, because I was suddenly struck with the need to have Alfeegi dominant over Ruwalk :giggle: As a result... well, this one is definitely not PG, but it's not graphic. I guess like the Nadil/Saabel, without the angst. **

**Enjoy for all those who requested the Alfeegi/Ruwalk! **

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_**Dragon Knight Snippets: Getting in the Mood**_

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Ruwalk had finished unbuttoning Alfeegi's shirt and thrown it aside, but his fingers paused above the belt buckle, and he glanced up, uncertainty clear in his eyes.

"What?" Alfeegi blinked, lazily looking up at the brunet who straddled him as he lay comfortably on Ruwalk's bed.

"Are you sure?" The taller man didn't draw back, but did pause, and Alfeegi cocked his head to the side, gazing confusedly at his lover.

"What do you mean? I know it's our first time, but we've talked about it, and you want to do it, right?"

Ruwalk nodded, but hesitated still.

The aquamarine-haired man gave an exasperated sigh and glared at him before taking a firm grip of Ruwalk's shoulders and sitting up, sending Ruwalk sprawling backward. He settled into their new positions, so that he was now straddling the brunet and smirked.

"I guess I'll have to get you in the mood, then." Ruwalk was surprised at the clever confidence with which had Alfeegi made himself comfortable on him, but he only had a moment to reflect on it before the copper-eyed man dove down and kissed him, pressing their lips together in an almost bruising fashion. Ruwalk moaned, and in response, Alfeegi pushed his tongue in, letting it slip dominantly around Ruwalk's. The chocolate-eyed man shivered slightly as Alfeegi's cool hands rested upon his chest, his fingers flexing in a cat-like fashion.

Minutes passed before the smaller man let up, leaning back to glance at Ruwalk coyly, but unable to hide the devoted affection in his eyes.

"Like it?" Ruwalk was too surprised at Alfeegi's boldness to do much more than stare, and Alfeegi took the opportunity to lean back down, tracing gentle patterns on the other's chest and stomach as he let his breath wander across Ruwalk's jaw line and up to his ear, nipping it lightly. His hands slid tantalizingly down Ruwalk's sides, his body ghosting over the larger man's in fluttering contacts of hot skin. Ruwalk let Alfeegi do as he wished while he enjoyed it and played with the long strands of sea-tinted hair that trailed down Alfeegi's back.

Alfeegi's eyes shone with amusement and tenderness as he slowly and agonizingly dragged his warm breath down Ruwalk's neck, along his shoulders, in teasing circles over his chest, and then along his collarbone. He gave a pleased smile when Ruwalk moaned, his hands pressing against Alfeegi's back.

"For the love of Dusis, where did you learn all this?" the brunet whispered, amazed at the way his body shivered in ecstasy, "Kaistern and I figured you'd be a passive lover and just kinda hand over dominance…"

Alfeegi lifted up his eyebrow to glance at Ruwalk as he bent down to kiss him leisurely, enjoying his submissiveness. "You and Kaistern talked about me?"

"Why not? It's not like it's _him_ rambling about how sexy you are."

The copper-eyed man chose to ignore that little slip of his partner's tongue in light of the situation, and instead smiled innocently, "This is the reward you get for picking me."

"You shouldn't have kept this little reward a secret…" Ruwalk said before flipping Alfeegi over, gently kissing him.

"Are you ready now?"

"Hell yes, after that treatment you gave me…" He grinned, gazing lovingly down at the pure sunset eyes below him, before proceeding to undo the belt buckle.

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**And GOSH, thank you sooo much, Blue Film, cause you definitely helped me out a lot. I mean, really!**

**Capella: So I pleased? Was that really what you had in mind:surprised: That's good! Yes, well, the warnings in the beg tell all... Lol, anyway, I'm glad you liked it. I'd never thought of them that way, but it was interesting to write, and is an odd, new pairing... with a lot of angst potential... I might work with them again sometime... **

**Crazy meowmeow: Well, it was a request, and was actaully really interesting to write...I'll do that Rath one He's so cute! **

**Kage Ohkami: It was weird :laughs: But I'll have a couple humorous ones coming up. **

**Shadowdown: Aw, I think Alfeegi's cute when he's naive... though I do like him having the upper hand :points to snippet above: Glad you liked! **

**Aquajogger: I'd actually never thougth that was what was going on... :cringe: Makes sense though... hm, I wonder if it's true... anywaaaay. :blinks: WHAT pictures of Shydeman and Gil? In the manga:surprised: **

**Dragoness Fei: The link didn't show... :pout: I wanna see that... :Blinks: You were laughing while reading this? That must be one heck of an outfit... **

**Anyyyyyway, next will be... either be Ruwalk and Rath, or Tetheus/Kaistern. Tata! **


	11. White Lilies: KaisternTetheus

**I'm baaaack! With the next snippet, a cute KaisternxTetheus, cause I love them so much. **

**Warnings: None. Kaistern/Tetheus fluff. **

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**_Dragon Knight Snippets: White Lilies_**

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It had to be _that_ time of the year again, Tetheus thought, drumming his fingers on the balcony rail outside of his room.

In fact, tomorrow _was_ that day.

Kaistern's birthday.

Tetheus always found himself at a loss as to what to give to the Blue Officer. Kaistern wasn't petty, and wouldn't want anything superficial, and Tetheus would never give him something like that anyway. And besides, what could Tetheus give him that he didn't already have, or that the others wouldn't give him?

Two years ago Kaistern had been on a trip, and so his birthday had been cancelled. Last year, Tetheus had given him a book. It had felt impersonal, and almost thoughtless to Tetheus, but he had been hard pressed to find something for him. Kaistern had taken it with a wide smile, then had hesitated briefly, grinned again, and leaned over to peck his cheek.

Still, despite the relatively favourable outcome of last yet, this year, Tetheus wanted to give him asomething more special, something meaningful…

Glaring down at the castle grounds splayed before him, he settled for staring at the small garden underneath his balcony. A couple of seconds passed, then his eyes widened, and he _almost_ wanted to smack himself on the forehead.

It wasn't exactly in his nature, but just this once, it didn't really matter.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The next morning, as Kaistern yawned, stretched, and walked into his office, ready for another day of reporting trips, it took him a couple of seconds to register the foreign object on his desk. Arranged neatly among the stacks of papers was a bouquet of majestic snow lilies. After that, it only took him a moment to figure out who it had come from, and he smiled slowly.

Tetheus had remembered that nostalgic mention years ago about how white lilies reminded him of his childhood home.

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**Cute, ne?**

**Dragoness Fei: Well, I'm not normally a yaoi writer... the Nadil/Saabel was a request, though I might work with them again sometime, and the Alfeegi/Ruwalk was because... I wanted Alfeegi dominant. :laughs: But um... I might try that Shydeman/Gil one... though it'd probably be more reflective, cause I don't wanna see those pics, and the two are scary, so any action would be more... passive? I don't know... I might write a snippet between them two, I might not... I did see the bunny picture though! O.O ... creepy... but funny... **

**Aquajogger: Yup, Alfeegi's quite the teaser im bed, hm? I just reaaaally wanted something with him dominant.**

**Reviewer: Lol, thanks. **

**Kage:revives with water: I guess that's the effect I was going for... :sweatdrop:**

**Crazy meowmeow: Yup, Alfeegi has the upper hand :snickers: C'mon, he does so much work during the day, do you think he'd slack off at night:laughs:**

**Capella: Yeah, well, I normally don't write just plain yaoi, but :shrugs: I wanted a Ruwalk/Alfeegi one with Alfeegi as dominant, and this is the scenario I came up with. But don't worry, I don't normally have yaoi without a plot like this. I haven't read K/H in soooo long. They were my first shounen-ai couple, the one that expanded my horizons :rambles on: lol**

**Tata! Hope you liked. Review! **


	12. Babies?

**Alright, temporary break from all the yaoi, some humor... will go into Ram/Gil and some other ones (Kitchel/Thatz hopefully, there's Rath/Cesia coming... Rune + Rath one... erm... ).**

**:Squeal: 100 REVIEWS:squeals again: That's awesome! Thank yoooou:happy: **

**And thanks to Blue Film, for ... correcting all of my stupid errors, and for her great suggestions to improve my writing! **

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**_Dragon Knight Snippets: Babies_**

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"Ruuuwalk… where do babies come from?"

Judging by the way his hands fumbled with the apple he was eating, and the uneasy way he glanced about, Ruwalk had never been asked that before, much less by a four-year-old child.

"Um…" The first thing that came to his mind was telling the truth, but then he thought of Alfeegi, for more than one reason, and decided upon his better judgment.

"You see, Rath… it's like this. When a mother and father want kids, they call a dragon-"

"A dragon?" Rath blinked, clearly not expecting this answer.

"Yeah, a magic dragon, who can talk and lives in the clouds, surrounded by a baby-making workshop." Ruwalk grinned, beginning to get creative as he saw the fun in the situation.

"What's his name?"

"Um, Charei."

"That's a stupid dragon name. Why not Layel?" Rath wrinkled his nose.

"Because that was his father's name."

"Oh."

"The dragon has a really big bag to put the babies in… and cool clothes like Lykouleon's, and he's really big."

"Oooh, does he have…" Rath put his finger on his bottom lip in a pensive look, "...big silver wings?"

"Yeah, sure," Ruwalk agreed. "So, when you want a baby, the dragon comes at night and takes a little bit of the parents' hair, and leaves a coin for it…" Okay, so now he was mixing in the tooth collector's , but who cared? "And then he sticks the hair in this super cool machine in the factory, and it makes a baby that's a little bit of both parents. The he wraps it up, puts it in his mailbag, and flies off to deliver it to them. It comes all wrapped up in a bow and everything, and brings sweets and toys with it for the baby."

"Wow… really?" Rath's childish eyes were wide with wonder.

"Yep." Ruwalk nodded matter-of-factly.

The next night, as Rath sat in Alfeegi's lap listening to his bedtime story, he suddenly piped up, "I wanna have a baby!"

The White Officer sent a suspicious glare Ruwalk's way when the other threatened to burst out laughing.

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**Wooo... I know, odd, buuut, I just had this little... plot bunny, I guess, of Rath asking Someone where babies came from... and I chose Ruwalk, for some reason. Hope you liked anyway. **

**Uuum, since I don't have a lot of time, and I'm sure you'd rather me post this today rather than wait til tomorrow just for responses, there's none this time. but I will say thatI'll work on those requests eventaully (as soon as I get an idea for WHAT to write with them). And I'm reeeeeally glad for your reviews! **


	13. Errands: RuwalkFeegi

**Back! Ha... I forgot I'd written this, and so that's why i haven't posted in so long. I gotta write up the next couple snippets, and will do so, and they're going to be... Rath/Cesia.. and a Gillaam, and I'll see what else I manage to come up with.**

**To those who are sick of this insane focus on Kaistern/Tetheus and Alfeegi/Ruwalk... sorry :sweatdrop: I'll move out of this stage soon and get to those odd requests :laugh: **

**Warnings: Alfeegi/Ruwalkness. So PG-13, i guess, but nothing bad. **

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**Dragon Knight Snippets**

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Kaistern hated running errands. Sure, he was the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and hence traveled a lot just taking messages and attending diplomatic meetings, which in a way was like being an errand boy, but being sent off to search for someone was not his favorite thing to do. He'd had enough of _that_ when Rath was little.

What annoyed him the most was that this particular person _should_ have been in his office, diligently filing papers. Or more correctly, _obsessively _filing papers.

Tetheus wearing a dress and Rath having tea with a demon instead of killing it was more likely to happen than Alfeegi not being in his office when he should have.

He threw open the door to some random old office, not _really_ expecting to find Alfeegi, and was shocked into silence as he saw that Alfeegi was, indeed, in there.

The aquamarine-haired secretary was sitting on the desk, arms loosely wrapped around Ruwalk's neck, who stood above him, hands pressed into Alfeegi's back. They were apparently too busy with whatever it was they were doing with their mouths to notice Kaistern, and he took that opportunity to close the door quietly before they _did_ notice him.

He didn't think Lykouleon needed Alfeegi that much.

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**Reviewer responses: **

**Blue Film: It's almost embarrasing how much editing I need :sweatdrop: Thank you!**

**Capella: I'd actually had the stupid stork idea in there, but Blue Film suggested the dragon, and I was like 'Duuuuh! _Dragon_ clan :can't believe she didn't think of that: He is cute!**

**Crazy meow Meow: I love writing little Rath. he's so fun!**

**Kage Ohkami: Once again, i actually _did_ have the stork in there first... Blue Film suggested the dragon, which works soo much better, I can't believe I didn't think of it. **

**Aquajogger: Ruwalk has a good imagination, doesn't he? Oh, and by the way, I'm actually getting somewhere with Possessed by a Memory, so hopefully that'll be out in a week or two. **

**Lol: ...ok?**

**Reviewer: He is cute.**

**Bad Kitty Gil and DragonessFei: Yay, it was liked! I wanna have a kid anyway, even though it's not as easy as Ruwalk makes it out to be. Is this what men think having a child is like?**

**IsisIshtar: Hm... a nadil/Lykoleon... :creepy: I'll see what I can do, cause for them to be together under normal circumstances would be OOC and odd as all hell. :laugh: **

**Thank to everyone, and I promise I'll get to the requests as soon as I come up with something for them! Next will be a Rath/Cesia. And soon after a couple other ones, the Gillaam, a Rath+Rune+Thatz... or something with them three. I've been neglecting them. Bye!**


	14. Rose Tinted Lips: LykRaseleane

**After a long absence... here's the next snippet! **

**Warnings: None. **

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_**Dragon Knight Snippets: Rose-tinted Lips **_

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There were a lot of things Lykouleon didn't understand. 

Mostly because it hurt to understand, so he refused to. They were things that, try as he might, he couldn't fix.

War, and pain, and why he couldn't have a child with his wife, and why Rath hated him. The way Kaistern and Tetheus went on dangerous journeys and often came back injured, and how the Dragon Knights were so young but had seen far more than they should have… People starving and dying, the pain of loss…

He was supposed to be all-powerful in the land; he was the Lord after all. But what did that mean, when it really mattered? No matter what changes he made to the government, there would always be poverty and struggles, people committing crimes, and lives being lost. No matter how he tried to mollify the youkai, there would always be rebellious ones that would attack villages and strip them of their inhabitants. The people of his castle would always be in danger, because he needed them. He needed Rath, Rune and Thatz to go out and risk their lives to try to attain peace, he needed Tetheus at the top of security, and Kaistern to go into strange lands to battle the underhanded ways of politicians, and Alfeegi and Ruwalk to wear themselves out helping him and keeping things running smoothly. Lykouleon also knew that if something were to happen, they would give up their lives to protect him, and as glad as he was to have friends as loyal as that, it made him feel guilty. He didn't know how he would be able to live with himself if he was the cause of their deaths.

Just… why was life like this, and why he didn't have enough power to stop it?

It would start with a single thought, like a snake that waited for dark to settle to thrive and feed off his insecurities and make them grow into a desperation he was forced to swim through as he lay in bed, watching the ceiling change in color throughout the night from a deep black, to a steady blue, to a light cerulean, and then the sun would break through, and pour a shining ray of light onto the bed. A perfect face was always illuminated in the early glow of dawn, a beautifully pale face with a crown of ebony-dark silken hair, lashes shut over crystal-clear eyes.

Every morning, after all the tormenting thoughts that deaden normally clear eyes dull, Lykouleon would look to his side, and smile lightly, then lean over to kiss those rose-colored lips.

Golden eyes fluttered open, a slow smile crossing those cherry lips, and suddenly, it didn't matter whether he understood life or not.

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**I finally wrote something with Lykouleon! I just wrote thefirst line, and then tried to figure out how to make a snippet out of it... There's not much with him, isn't that sad? Anyway, have a CesiaRath one and another Alfeegi/Ruwalk, and am typing up the Gillam and a Thatchel and Rune/Tintlet. **

**Kitty2Satan: If it's in character, I'd be reeeeally curious to read that Nadil/Lykouleon... I actually have ideas for that pairing... that I have to expand to write it... they're still kinda odd...**

**Blue Film: Yeah, it really helps when you point out those sentences that turn out lame, cause then I can actually focus on them and come up with something (hopefully) better. Thanks! **

**Eikou: That's what got me interested in writing the snippets in the first place - and i liked that description, photographs... I call them 'slice of life' or whatever, and I just adooooore reading fics like that, so I was inspired to write my own... But yeah, they're fun to come up with, though I haven't gotten the full hang of them yet... if you like Fullmetal Alchemist, check out the drabbles by Fireun and Spades44, they're sooo cool! And sweet! **

**Capella: I'm glad they amuse you even if you don't really like the pairings... I'll have a couple Gillaams, so don't worry, cause I love them too! Thanks for reading anyway!**

**BLK Angel: Thank you! Sry for the long wait. **

**Kage Ohkami: I actually had originally had them notice Kaistern and him ease himself back out, but it was cliche, as you and Blue Film pointed out.**

**IsisIshtar: Nothing wrong with them... I just can't see them togethetr shudder Nadil creeps me out... not as much as Shydeman, but yes, he does. I do have some ideas for them that I gotta work on to write a snippet out of. :sigh: I don't know what I'm going to do with Comfor in the Snow... I wanna keep writing it, and I still have some ideas, it's just ... a little more difficult that it sounds. **

**Aquajogger: Alfeegi and Ruwalk... in ... uniforms : purposely omits what kind of uniforms: That is scary. Funny, but scary. Like ... Kaiba in a mermaid outfit :runs away: My little cousin was trying to mentally scar me. And now you... WAAAAAAAAAH! **

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! Bye! **


	15. Singing: RuwalkFeegi

**Ding dong! Next snippet. **

**Warnings: None**

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_**Dragon Knights Snippets: Singing**_

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Alfeegi had a habit of humming as he worked.

It was a little-known habit, because he only did it when he was alone. In fact, Ruwalk was the only one who knew, and merely because he'd walked by Alfeegi's office and heard him. When Ruwalk would tease and gently encourage him to hum for him, Alfeegi always refused with a small smile and brief shake of his head.

"I don't sing for anyone," he'd said.

After realizing that there was no way to convince Alfeegi to sing for him, Ruwalk decided to try another tactic.

So every morning, when Ruwalk knew everyone was busy somewhere else and Alfeegi was alone in his office, he would walk up to the closed door and lean against it. Then he'd listen with a contented smile on his face to the lilting hum of the White Officer inside. Sometimes the hum would swell into words, and Ruwalk would relish the beautiful tenor voice.

If he was lucky, Alfeegi would be in the library and Ruwalk could watch him from behind the shelves as Alfeegi sat tranquilly and hummed or sang softly as he worked on various reports.

Ruwalk never made his presence known, always made sure to stay as quiet as possible and slip away unnoticed.

But sometimes, Alfeegi would glance up towards his general direction and hurriedly turn back to his work, and there would be a slight tinge of crimson on his face, making Ruwalk wonder if he did know.

He could never really be sure though, since Alfeegi never mentioned it and wouldn't look up again afterwards.

Maybe there _was_ someone Alfeegi would sing for.

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**Crazy Meowmeow: Shame on you for cheating on Rath :laugh: I love practically all of them, jeez...**

**Kage: I know. Funny thing was, I just started the snippet with the first sentence, and then was like ... 'so, uh... how do I go on?'**

**Capella: Oh, but he's cute when he's cheerful! I fixed that screw up. I swear, I will have a multitude of Gillaam when I get into the Gillaam mood (halfway done with impeding Gillaam) I'm such a slow worker...**

**Aquajogger: Hm, I hadn't thought of that. I like those calm before the storm moments, cause you get to see a little bit of the mundane side of everyone, and I just adore that. part of the reason I started writing snippets, though I'm not too good at them yet. About the smut... I don't do smut. I can't. First off, it's against my morals (yes, I've read some not-so-good things, but writing it's out of the question) and second... don't know how. The Alfeegi/Ruwalk fic is probably as close as I'll ever get. Now, yuri... I'll see if there's anything I can come up with...**

**Angstluver: Shydeman/fedelta... hm... They're a bit shadier characters because not much is portrayed of them... but I'll see if I make something up... **

**Kitty: You did get it back, right? I'm not really any good, and sory if I intruded in your piece too much... :sweatdrop:**

**Misty: Rath/Rune is cute : )**

**Eikou: Thank you! I try to do these well... BlueFilm helps out a lot with my stuff as my betaer too. **

**Famin: That one was funny. I just had to write the baby one, even if it was stupid at first, and my first idea of it sucked. Here's the Alfeegi/RUwalk. **

**Thank you guys! Next is Cesia/Rath, followed by... who knows. Thatz/Kitchel, Gillaam, Tintlet/Rune, sometime I'll write that Lykouleon/Nadil and Shydeman/Gil, oh, and that odd Ruwalk/Tetheus floating around in my head... **


	16. Drinking Sorrows: RathCesia

**I got the next snippet out, yay! Rath Cesia too!**

**Warnings: Dark, language... nothing else, don't think. **

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_**Dragon Knight Snippets: Drinking Sorrows**_

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Another drink, another sorrow drowned in it.

And though Cesia knew Rath had plenty of sorrows to drown, she didn't like seeing him like this.

Several empty bottles lay forgotten around the dark room, some of the older ones hers. Wet shards of broken glass glittered around them, and Cesia summoned a short wind spell to sweep them all into a dirty corner she'd clean up in the morning.

"Did you see the stupid look in their faces when I told them I was leaving on another demon hunt?" the dark-haired knight spat out after taking a large gulp of alcohol.

"No."

"Ha! Alfeegi started yelling at me, telling me how it was dangerous and how many trips I'd gone in just over the past couple months. Ruwalk had this scared look." There was an almost triumphant note in his voice, before being overshadowed by something between hatred and disdain. But Cesia could see the pain in his eyes, even as he clamored his hate for them.

"Kaistern wasn't there, so he couldn't do anything. Probably would have just watch me quietly like he always does… Damn, even Tetheus looked at me like he thought I was going to get myself killed," he laughed bitterly, the glassy look alcohol brought to his eyes clear, "Maybe I should."

"Stop talking like that!" Cesia snapped, finally snatching the bottle away. He growled, and in a movement too quick for his state of drunkenness, swiped it back.

"I hate them all!" he slurred. The bottle crashed against the wall and Cesia winced as miniature glass knives pricked at her skin and cold wine droplets splattered her face.

"They still care for me…" the choked sob brought her attention back abruptly to the shaking figure beside her.

"…Rath…" She reached out tentatively, knowing how violent he could be when drunk, but he looked at her despairingly and crumpled into her arms like a broken china doll.

"Why do they still care for me? They shouldn't in the first place, but even now, when I've been nothing but a smart-ass and given them an attitude and done nothing but screw up the castle… they still get worried about me…"

Cesia stroked his hair, ignoring the painful pressure his sharp grip was causing her, "Because you're pathetic. Would you really rather they hate you?"

"Yes! Then I could… I could feel like it's part of my punishment… for everyone I've killed. I don't deserve their love, and it only makes me feel guiltier…"

"Rath, it wasn't your fault. Who you are now is much different from the _youkai_ before…"

"But I still killed them!" the insistent, pained reply came, muffled by her clothing, and she realized this was a battle she couldn't win.

"You have to let it go. No one blames you…"

She lifted up his face, noting with a sigh the feverish flush on his face and the drunken glaze in his eyes. He closed his eyes tiredly and she leaned down and kissed him.

"Go to sleep," she whispered.

After pulling him into bed and slipping in besides him, she took his hand and wondered why he didn't mind her loving him.

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**They're an interesting pair to work with. :should do so more often:**

**Kage Ohkami: Thank you :happy: BTW, love the little Thatz face :laughs:**

**Meow-meow: Here's your long-awaited Rath/Cesia. I pronounce it se-seea... :shrugs: **

**Peophin: Ugh :shakes head: I started that Lykouleon/Nadil... but it's very weird... I'm thinking of scrapping it and writing another scenario... **

**Angstluver: Hm, I'll see about the Shydeman/Fedelta... I don't have the books on hand, but when I do I'll remember. **

**Misura: I like doing subtle stuff... when I do it right... usually I don't really plan it that way, so I'm glad it came out like that. **

**Evalita::nods: Ooh, I like that, Bierrez overprotective... And I already had something in mind for that, just gotta get to write it :like most of her stuff: **

**Eikou: Thanks!**

**Shadowdown: Thanks for all the comments :Happy: **

**Kitty2Satan: It was probably more input than you wanted, but I thought it was good. Good luck with writing! **

**Aquajogger: Who knows, a death fic just might strike my fancy sometime :laugh: Ooh, random characters, that'd be interesting... It doesn't even have to be a pairing, it could be just throwing them together into a totally awkward position :cracks up thinking about it: Yeah, totally predictable ending... and we are getting an Officer thing around... it used to be all Rath Thatz and Rune... **

**THANKS! I have a couple written that just need to be typed, and a lot of brainstorming to be done with several of them... eeeeek **

**Til the next snippet! **


	17. Fights

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**Well... this is a very odd snippet, don't ask me where it came from... Unbetae'd... **

**Warnings: Language, midly depressing.**

**Half Enjoy? **

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_Dragon Knight Snippets_

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The air was stifling, its clambering heaviness dulling his senses and constricting his body into lethargy. A broken vase lay on the floor, he could see the glittering shards mocking him with theircheerful sparkling from where he lay on his bed.

Voices. Coming closer, and he immediately pleaded to the gentle breeze that provided relief to his choked mind for them not to come closer, to leave, to go away forever.

Had he really been reduced to that? When had it happened… when had he stopped being the mediator, and instead let the angry voices and fights drive him away and swallow him in hopelessness?

There was a weary swing to the flick of his wrist as he swatted green hair from his face, wondering what the point of doing so was. Nothing really seemed to matter. The vase had been there for hours, and he hadn't bothered to pick the shards up, just like his room hadn't been cleaned up in a couple days, and dinner had begun, but he just didn't feel like there was a point to getting up.

The voices passed his room, and the growing dread that they'd come in left him sighing heavily. He hadn't even bothered to check whose voices they'd been, but he knew he didn't want anything right now.

There was a lulling warmth in lying along in his room, with the oncoming darkness sheltering him and pulling him deeper into the apathetic despair that had become his predominant mood.

He hated showing this new side to the others, but when in the midst of his despair, when nothing had any importance or value, he hardly cared.

He was so sick of the fighting. The mere hint of a rising argument seemed to drain him, and watching the heated arguments between his two best friends left him exhausted and frustrated, weary of it all.

Rath was moody as ever, angry because he wasn't allowed to leave the castle on accounts of his current emotional instability. He would fly into rages and then deaden just as suddenly and sink into heavy depression, and the cycle would repeat itself over and over. He hardly seemed to laugh or smile anymore, and it was almost impossible to deal with him for long amounts of time.

Rune too, was having his problems. He wouldn't talk about it, but Thatz was suspecting that it was something from his past, either homesickness, or nightmares. He didn't sleep much, it seemed, and that in itself was enough to put in him a bad mood, but with whatever else was bugging him, he was almost unsociable.

This lead to a lot of clashes. Rath's slightest idiosyncrasy would set Rune off, and Rath spent the day glaring venomous daggers at anyone who confronted him in the least, and that person was usually Alfeegi or Rune. Alfeegi had come to realize there wasn't much he could do, though, so he'd simply begun to ignore Rath's trespassing of minor rules. Rath and Rune though, in their short-tempered foul moods, ended up doing a lot of yelling.

It was Thatz who was usually stuck in the middle, with either side trying to convince him to back him up, or getting angry at him for trying to mediate.

He'd stopped trying to fix things, and get them talking again, and instead, had withdrawn himself. If he was away, in the farthest corner of the castle, then they couldn't find him, and he wouldn't have to hear them. It had gotten to the point that he couldn't talk to them, they were so far into their bad moods, and completely unable to see any sort of reasoning when Thatz had tried.

Hateful, loud voices still reverberated in his head, and it was painful for him to hear the loathing tones of his best friends insulting each other over and over again.

Did they not see how much it was hurting him?

"You _can't _go get another sword just because you want to!"

"You can't tell me what to do, youdamn brownnoser!"

"Better than an irrational, irresponsible, mentally unstable _child _like you!"

"What'd you say? You're just so full of yourself, aren't you?"

"I am not! I don't care. You're not getting another sword!"

"You can't stop me!"

The argument came closer, and as the knob turned, Thatz dug his head under the pillow.

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**This is probably the oddest most random one in here, so uh... :sweatdrop: Don't know what to say. There's a Thatchel, and the procrastinated Gillaam coming soon, and a couple others hopefully... School's been killing me. I had like, three projects due on one day, and I'd been workign on the for two weeks, then there was the an orchestra firled trip (Washington DC, it was the BOMB!) and I got done with another project yesterday. So I've been really busy, but hoepfully a nice break is starting to come... **

**Oh, this is unbetae'd so if I get this betae'd then there might be some modifications... **

**Wait up for the next one! Sorry for this disappointing update :sad:**

**(OH! Curiosity, if anyone knows Yami no Matsuei... I wrote a Hisoka/Tsuzuki piece, and wanted someone to read it over before I post it because it was kinda odd... present tense does not work for me...)**


	18. Tangles: RuneTintlet

**Wow... it's been a while... I'm sorry! Glad to say that I have a number of snipets on their way though! Now that it's summer and I have lots of free time to hopefully force me to stop procrastinating... lol. **

**Warnings: None... Tintlet/Rune!**

**Enjoy!**

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_**Dragon Knight Snipets: Tangles**_

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When life was alright, and times were calm, and there was gentle warmth pressing comfortably against you, consciousness came slowly. 

Rune shifted slightly to accommodate the lithe body sleeping in his arms, burying his face in the golden, silk hair that covered them like a gossamer blanket. The early morning rays were already warming his back, and he languidly lifted a hand to slip aside a stray lock of straight hair that had fallen across his face, resulting in a tickling sensation.

He must have fallen asleep again, because the next thing he knew, the weight in his arms had disappeared, and a shadow had fallen across his previously sunlit face.

Rune opened his eyes and blinked sleepily up at Tintlet's tender, smiling face, framed by flaxen curls that lavished the ground in gentle rolling waves.

"Morning, Rune," She pecked his lips, and he smiled drowsily, crystal blue eyes shining lovingly.

"Morning," he leaned up to murmur in her ear.

He then yawned and sat up, letting her lean her head on his shoulder, and fingered the soft grass underneath his hands.

"The wild cherries are blossoming," she giggled at length, pointing up, and Rune's gaze followed her pale outstretched hand. Sure enough, the small white blossoms hung clumped around the branches above them, delicate flowery cylinders that seemed to be floating in the air like snowy chandeliers held aloft by a thin green thread.

"Pretty," he said, nuzzling her neck. She continued to gaze at the pale blossoms, and he looked up again, and grinned, "Do you want some?"

"Thank you" she flashed a sweet smile.

Rune tried to get up, but was promptly yanked back with a simultaneous 'Ow!' from him and Tintlet. He fell back onto the ground with a dull thud and reached up to rub at his scalp where the hair had been yanked.

"Wha-?"

"My hair," Tintlet pouted lightly, threading delicately at her own head. Rune looked between them and stared.

An hour later, with Tintlet giggling and Rune sulking, Delte sat behind the two, brow furrowed in concentration as she sought to untangle the straight and curly locks of elven hair that had mixed and knotted during the night.

"I swear, _this_ is why I keep my hair short."

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**I liked this one :giggle: it was fun to do. **

**Kage Ohkami: Thank you... It was a really weird snipet, the last one... **

**Black Angel of Destruction: Thank you!**

**Angstluver: Yeah... the last one... like I said, was really weird, I'm not too proud of it either. **

**Aquajogger: I've thought that too! I mean... he's always in the middle of everything... **

**Kitty2Satan: No, thanks, you pointed out a lot of things that had slipped my mind! In my defense though, snipets aren't necessarily cannon, (though I'm not saying that gives one an excuse to go OOC or anything) And I really had just wanted to write about how Thatz might feel if Rune and Rath were constantly fighting, which is something they do a good bit... and what would happen if Thatz was constantly asked to mediate.When writing this, Ihad some trouble because I realized that this really wasn't how Rath and Rune normally acted. Thanks for your review though, cause I've always had trouble understanding just how it is that Rath is closed off to the castle, I mean...I personally have trouble grasping the differences in his personality when around different people, I don't know why. But your review helped me see that- I think I just need it spelled out completely - This is how he is at the castle, this is how he is with ppl he trusts- Anyone want to spell it out for me:seriously asking:  
So no, I'm keeping that review up there :laughs: it was really helpful in getting another perspective and clearing up on Rath's character. I hope that on Thatz's end he was in character enough :shrug: I don't really like my last snipet. **

**Crazy meowmeow: Thanks a lot! **

**Eikou: Hm... I gotta take a look at that and fix that... I'm glad someone thought it was different and new:points to Aquajogger as well: Not really too happy with it, but at least it was enjoyed by most to a certain extent and not totally hated. **

**Thank you everyone! Expect a couple more soon, cause SUMMER'S HERE! And that means lots of free time. I'm actually working on my stuff! Yay! **


	19. Surprise!: Gillaam

**Back again! Thanks for your support **

**OMG- It's the GILLAAM! Finally! **

**Warnings: None, very slight GilxRam...**

**Enjoy!**_**

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Dragon Knight Snippets: Surprise!

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"Ram, what are you doing!" Gil yelped as something soft was slung over his eyes, obscuring his vision.

"I told you I wanted to show you something, right? Well, I want to keep it a surprise," Gil could imagine all too well the mischievous smile on his lover's face.

"But- but I thought it was outside! I can't walk outside with a blindfold," he reached up to try to take it off, but his hand was slapped away playfully.

"Ah, ah, ah, no cheating! I'll lead you through the woods- don't worry, I won't let you fall."

Gil raised an eyebrow, highly doubting Ram's words- he didn't exactly have the best coordination.

"You can barely keep yourself from falling on your face, what makes you think I believe you can keep me from falling too?"

"You wound me," he said dramatically, and Gil guessed he was pouting. Gil snorted, but nonetheless let Ram take his hand and lead him out the door.

The sudden blast of warm air and hot sunshine was not very welcome, in Gil's opinion, since he liked the cooler temperature and shade of the cabin better. But no, Ram had to pick the hottest day to show him something outside.

He felt Ram pause in front of him and heard low shuffling at his feet, "What?"

"I'm just clearing some of the thorny bushes aside, wouldn't want you to get all scratched up."

"Er, thanks…" Gil muttered, scratching his arm for lack of anything else to do, feeling highly uncomfortable with his inability to see anything. Presently though, Gil's hand was once again enclosed within Ram's, and he was pulled gently through the wooded expanses.

"All right now, lift your left foot over- there's a big rock there."

They had to stop several times, whether because Ram would stop to clear the way of branches, or assist Gil over a fallen log, or because either of them tripped. At one point, Gil slipped and fell onto Ram, blushing a crimson shade that rather reminded Ram of the cherries they picked in the fall.

Finally though, Ram stopped completely, letting Gil bump softly into him.

"What now?"

"We're here!"

"Good, I can take off this stupid thing now…" Gil muttered, fiddling with the blindfold, only to find that Ram had knotted it in one of those weird knots of his that Gil couldn't for the life of him figure out, "Ram!"

He reached out, frowning perplexedly as there was nothing in front of him, waving his arm frantically, "Ram?"

Then he heard a stifled giggle, and the blindfold was gone just in time for him to see that he was standing at an edge overlooking a huge lake before a hand pushed him forcefully – over the edge and into the water.

_-SPLASH-_

He broke the water's surface, soaked from head to toe and shivering from the cold, to glare at the sniggering figure standing above him.

"I just love a wet Kitten," he grinned devilishly.

"Very funny," Gil seethed, "Remember, too, that cats hate water."

Ram grinned, shrugged, and jumped in besides him, splashing an already-soaked Gil with even more water.

"Aw, but I wanted to surprise you!" Ram fake-pouted, hugging Gil from behind. Gil's lips twitched, his anger subsiding considerably at warm face that nuzzled his neck teasingly.

"Aha, I see that grin!" Ram said triumphantly, and Gil rolled his eyes and splashed him in reply.

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** That one was fun to write. I really do love that pairing, they're so cute! They just complement each other so well... **

**Next up is a Thatz/Rune that I came up with a long time ago but had never gotten around to typing it up from paper. Expect it in a week or so. **

**Old Fiat: Sure, you can use the singing/humming idea. I'll be curious to see what you can do with it. Drop by to tell me when you write me. And... :laughs: Why do I like shounen-ai? I wonder that myself. :shrugs: I think it's cute **

**Angstluver: Actually, I really wasn't implying that they did anything during the night, lol. **

**Raeven Dawn: thank you! **

**Reviewer: Thanks! **

**Kitty2Satan: I love Delte... And about the tree... acutally, there's a plant called Wild Cherry, of Black Cherry, and when it blooms... well, the flowers bloom. I would know cause I had to do a project in school about it, and I had to collect the cherry blossoms. I actually don't know if the bloom matures into cherry _fruits_ though... :should check that out:**

**Crazy meowmeow: Yay! Thankyou!**

**Black Angel ofDestruction: Thanks! **

**Thanks everyone! **


	20. Empty: Gillaam

**:pout: Gil and Ram don't get enough love, so I decided to write a series of snippets for them, but as it seems that no one reads them, I decided, heck, I might as well just put their snippet in here. Sorry Kage Ohkami (quick word at the bottom). But at least that means two things: a, a quick update, and b, that I have more Gillaam ready. yay! **

**Warnings: slight angst, fluff, andshounen-ai**

**Enjoy! **

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**_Dragon Knight Snippets: Empty_**

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Raamganas sometimes worried about Gil. It was only natural that he'd sometimes remember his time in Nadil's army, of course, but he still worried. Even more so because he couldn't do anything about it. 

It was usually when it rained, especially during the rainy season, when it was day after day of gloomy weather, keeping them inside and robbing Gil from the sunlight he loved to bask in.

Ram would always wake up with a sort of empty feeling, more physical than anything else, and he would wonder what was missing… the bed was warm, but not as much as usual… and then he'd reach out blindly and find nothing next to him.

Rising, he looked around, though it was unnecessary, since he knew exactly where Gil was when he got into one of his depression periods. Moments when his mind was years in the past, a world away, back into the hell and torture he'd endured under Nadil's army.

Sitting with his arms crossed on the windowsill, staring blankly at the falling rain outside, Gil didn't even glance at Raamganas as he got up and dressed, made the bed and quietly made his way over.

The crimson-haired demon wrapped his arms gently around Gil from behind, remaining quiet as he joined him in watching the rain splatter on the windowpane and drip down to pool at the bottom of the window sill. The wind shook the trees and shaped the rain into swirls, and the sky occasionally flashed dimly.

But Gil's beautiful, golden eye was empty, and he didn't respond to Ram's gentle nuzzle.

Raamganas couldn't stand to look at his face, it hurt too much, so he kept his gaze trained on the window, tightened his grip momentarily on the smaller demon and whispered slowly.

"I love you, remember that."

He finally got a response, though it was just a thoughtful, hesitant nod, and Ram knew there was nothing else he could do.

"Thank you…"

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**Hm... it's probably not exactly what you expected, but the next one's more cheerful. By the way, if you like Gillaam, I've a fic written called Comfort in the Snow. Very angsty and fluffy. Just thought I'd drop that. **

**Anyway, I'll update if there's enough reviews. Spread the Gillaam love! Next one is... the Thatz/Rune one that was originally supposed to be the next update. **

**Kage Ohkami: Well, you either skipped this chapter or reread it, so... I guess it's kinda disappointing that I removed the fic, but I figured I might as well put the Gillaam in here, and maybe make others believers in their absolute adorableness :laughs: **

**Reviewer: Thank you! I thought that was a cute line too, thought you'd have to read my other Gillaam fic :points above: to understand the nickname completely. **

**Crazy meowmeow: I can't wait til the next couple books come because (WARNING SPOILER) Ram comes back! And him and Gil are sooooooooooo adorable, Gil is the sweetest, shyest thing ever. I have scans, and I practically drool over them... and Gil, cause he has to hottest outfit I've ever seen. A collar for a kitten :grins: Hm... I should do a snippet on that... :grins wider: Oh, and I pronounce it... Ram (with a soft r, almost l) -gar (like garden) nas (like nasty)... but I'm not sure either!**

**Capella: Thank you! R/C has always been... interesting, but I'm not too good at writing them out of canon in a way I like, so that's usually how they are...they're not my favorite couple though, so I don't write much with them...I should do another one soon...I thought you'd like the Rune/Tint one :smile: I did promise to do more of them. Kage Ohkami said the same thing about worshipping me :laughs:huggles Gil and Ram: They're so fun to write, especially since Ram's not too much of an... explained character, I can do whatever I want with him. Pretty much the same for Gil too. **

**angstluver: The author alert idea's probably a very good one with my fics :sweatdrop: I never know when I'm going to update either... ranting's fun! I do it all the time! **

**Eikou: Glad to see you're back :happy: Well, in 8 and 9 is where Gil comes in, and though you don't find out much about Ram except that he rescued Gil, there's some ... quite telling (and cute) pics with them that just make you wanna pair them up, and suggest he was a kind character, maybe a bit eccentric (not in a bad way...) and that they really cared for each other. Kharl's hilarious... the way Garfakcy treats him like a little kid is sooo funny... Anyway... it's sometimes hard to come with new ideas for the snippets... :blinks: dude... I just came up with the _randomnest _(is that a word?) idea ever... after spacing out for a bit... **

:Done talking now: thanks for all the reciews! It's really awesome to read them :grins: Interesting comments and it's just cool to see what people think of what you write. bye!


	21. Sleeping: ThatzRune

**Alright, next snippet up! Thanks for the reviews! **

**Warnings: Implied shounen-ai, Thatz/Rune. **

**Enjoy! **

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_**Dragon Knight Snippets: Sleeping**_

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Rune was very punctual. He had what was in Thatz's opinion a bad habit of getting up early. Of course, anything before nine was early for Thatz, and if he had a choice, he'd sleep well into the afternoon. Still, six was insane and unhealthy. No wonder Rune was always in a bad mood.

The worst part about his punctuality was that he gracefully bestowed it on everyone. Much too early for Thatz's liking, he would burst into his room and call his name, already in that sharp haughty tone that he had mastered almost as well as Alfeegi. Of course, just words couldn't rouse Thatz, so then he'd move onto a frown and rough shaking. That would usually rouse a couple scattered mumbles and make him at least stir, but not wake. Usually, the whole ordeal would end with Rune flailing and whining about responsibility and what being a knight meant, and it wasn't until Rune would mutter something about breakfast that Thatz would be persuaded to get up. Then Rune would move onto his next victim, though that one, in Thatz's opinion, was even harder to wake up. Well, not if you mentioned demons…

Thatz found that all very ironic, because despite all the fuss Rune would make about how impossible he and Rath were to wake up, Rune was like a grave on his off days. It was next to impossible to wake Rune up when he didn't want to be waken up.

_What a pain in the rear_… Thatz grinned, poking Rune's sleeping form.

"Hey, Ruuuune… wanna wake up?"

No response.

"Aw, c'mon, don't you wanna file papers with Alfeegi? It'd be fun," _only for psychotic freaks,_ he added mentally, poking Rune again. All this gained him was a childish 'uh-uh' and then the covers were pulled tighter over his head.

"C'mon, it's nice and sunny outside. I know you elves love the sun…"

Still no response, so Thatz began babbling, ticking off on his fingers all sorts of things.

"We can go downtown and buy some books? Or I'll water your plants for a month? How about I baby-sit Rath for a whole day? I won't interrupt your mediations for a whole week? I'll do your laundry? I won't make annoying comments about how girly you are?"

Thatz huffed and crossed his arms, running out of ideas. _This guy's one tough cookie._ Usually just the mention of demons or food was enough to rouse the other two…

"I'll give you a kiss if you get up," he said, expecting Rune to get up to hit him with that rubber mallet he kept hidden somewhere.

To his surprise, a blonde head peeked out from under the covers, and baby blue eyes looked at him shyly, "Really?"

Thatz stared for a minute, shocked, and suddenly grinned widely, "I'll give you more than that if you stay in there."

* * *

**Ta-da! **

**Aquajogger: I just love Gillaam... I have another one written too, actually. **

**Crazy meowmeow: You got my scans, right? I emailed them to you... Hm, do Kaistern and Alfeegi get revived::hopeful:**

**Kage Ohkami: Wow::surprised someone's reread her fics: Yay! Ooh, next one's another Gillaam... or maybe a Kaistern/Tetheus. :Should vary it:**

**Reviewer: Thanks::happy:**

**Old Fiat: I'll look forward to your fic. Drop me a review to tell me when you write it, cause I don't check the updates page a lot. **

**Angstluver: The only reason I've made it to twenty is cause they're so short :sweatdrop: Thanks! **

**Dragoness Fei: Hm, i gues we're both weird, cause shounen-ai fluff/angst is what getsme excited :laughs: **

**See ya next chapter! **


	22. Hunting: Gillaam

**Tata! Back, with another Gillaam! And after that... I'm gonna see if I can finish up that darn Nadil/Lykouleon, ... I have the general idea of what I wanna do... it's just putting it down and making it sound right... Ugh :throws hands up exasperatedly: driving me crazy, that one snippet is... **

**Warnings: Um... animal bashing? Gillaam? **

**_

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_**

Dragon Knight Snippets: Hunting

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"What do you wanna eat today?" Gil asked Raamgarnas that morning, sitting on the floor and leaning his head back to look at the red-haired demon above him.

"Hm… I have the biggest urge to have rabbit stew today," Ram declared after a long period of serious consideration, "Too many vegetable soups lately."

"Alright," Gil shrugged.

"Good," the crimson-haired demon smiled and sat up, stepping over Gil to take up his crossbow and a couple traps, slinging them across his shoulder, "You coming?"

Gil shrugged again, "Why not?"

"Good, you've been cooped up too much lately with all the rain. It's not that bad to be wet, you know."

Gil glared at nothing in particular, muttering darkly, "Yes, it is…" which succeeded only in soliciting a muffled giggle from Ram at the cat-demon's vehement dislike for water.

"Anyway, let's go, Kitten," he motioned cheerfully, and Gil rolled his eyes, chuckling lightly at how excited Ram was. He acted like it was Gil who suffered the most from being cooped up, but it was always Ram who was itching to go outside if he was held inside for even half the amount of time Gil was.

It only took a while to find a group of hares nibbling peacefully among the tall grasses of a meadow, and Gil automatically handed the crossbow he'd been cajoled into carrying five minutes after beginning the trip to Raamgarnas.

"Making me do all the work," Ram muttered good-naturedly, aiming carefully. Gil didn't respond, never had. Though Gil and Raamganas often went out hunting, and Gil was often the first to spot their dinner for that night, he'd never actually killed one of the animals himself. Somehow, Ram had understood, from that first time that Gil had hesitated with the knife positioned across the rabbit's neck, and had never questioned it.

Maybe it was that Gil saw something of himself in the defenseless creatures, just sitting there waiting to be slaughtered and then eaten… used… He looked away as Ram pulled the trigger and the arrow flew true to its target.

Ram waded through the tall weeds into the middle of the clearing, Gil following obediently,and pickedup his prize, its companions long gone.

"Sorry little guy," he said simply but honestly. He turned a bright smile to Gil, "This'll do for today and tomorrow too."

Gil nodded and looked up at the sky, darkening with approaching clouds, "Let's head back, it's gonna rain soon…"

Ram leaned over to kiss Gil's cheek before he grinned and mock saluted, "Yes, sir!"

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**:sighs: I love them to death. **

**Anyway... on another note, out of 39 people who suposedly read the last chapter, only 7 reviewed. :points finger: Usually people don't review because they didn't think the story was worthy of a review. If so... tell me. I mean, so far, most people seem to like it, and I'll keep thinking that until someone tells me otherwise... not that I want that, but really, I think you get my point. If it sucks, and you're not telling, then I won't know that there's something to improve upon because no one's pointed out anything to fix. And if you could, give a little more to why you like it. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only author who wants more feedback, so it's not just me saying this. **

**Reviewer: They are cute! I should do more with them... **

**Kage: thank you!**

**Lizz: Yeah, I should, though I don't know if it'll be shounen-ai. I wanna make more humorous ones with the three of them... But I actually do have a Rune/Thatz idea... **

**Angstluver: Oooh, does it hurt::pats toe: poor you. I hate hospitals... avoid them like the plague... **

**Old Fiat: I'll try to read the singing one soon. As I said, thanks for reading them even if you don't like them. Hm... and I can't say I agree with you completely on your reasons, but I'll try to keep them in mind cause on some of my snippets they are true. :laughs: Well, it's funny to joke about them being gay... **

**Eikou: That's alright. I'd forgo any attempts to review if it took that long to load the page, eek! Thanks a lot for your suport, I'm glad you like them. And thanks for telling me, that's you know... appreciated... :smiles: **

**Alright... THANK YOU PEOPLE! Especially those who faithfully review, really, really thank you! Other people: ****REVIEW, dang it! **


	23. Deceit: LykNadil

**:pout: Only five reviews? Out of18 ppl who vsited the last chapter,5 reviewed. And out of the 47 for the chap before that one, 7. :sniffle:The reviews are slacking off.:dramatic sigh:**

**Aaaaaaaaaaaand it's the ... much much much awaited Nadil/Lykouleon. Probably not quite what you were expecting, and it's not as bad as that Nadil/Saabel. :twitch: I wanna write more with them though... **

**Warnings:thinks: shounen-ai. Nadilness, though not as bad as it could be...**

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**_Dragon Knight Snippets: Deceit _**

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Lykouleon used to hate _youkai_. He'd heard tales of how terrible and evil they were when he was young, and had developed a deep hatred for them that had stayed with him throughout his childhood and adolescence, and he thought it would have stayed with him for the rest of his life.

It didn't. Not after he metNadil, anyway. The Wind Knight had been the first _youkai_ Lykouleon had ever encountered, and he'd been surprised to find that he wasn't at all what he'd been expecting.

He wasn't evil, or disgusting, or cowardly and violent.

No, Nadil had been beautiful, and entrancing, courageous and clever...

"Prince Lykouleon."

Lykouleon's head snapped up, breaking himself out of his thoughts, warmth rising to his face as the object of his thoughts advanced on him, a predatory gleam in his eyes that Lykouleon was unawares of.

"Hello, Nadil," he responded cheerfully. Nadil let an amused smile alight on his face before Lykouleon continued, "How's Wind behaving?"

"I've managed to tame him," the violet-haired _youkai_ responded nonchalantly, snapping and making a sweeping sign with his fingers. Wind chirped from his perch on a nearby branch and swooped down to land obediently on his master's arm.

"I can't believe this was the same Wind who used to bite and fly around without permission," Lykouleon said admiringly.

"Yes, I've had my way with him," Nadil smiled, and had Lykouleon not been so busy staring into those luminous crimson eyes, he might have noticed the chilling curve of his friend's smile.

Despite the fact that he was a _youkai_, and there'd been much controversy at first over whether to allow him in the castle, and give him a position as Wind Knight as well, Lykouleon had grown attached to the violet-haired youkai.

Nadil was completely opposite of Lykouleon, the dark to Lykouleon's light. Maybe that was what had drawn him to the demon in the first place. There was a mysterious, knowing air to him, a secretive aura that seemed to cling to him and swish with the swing of his steps. His eyes were a deep, alluring red, his hair violet like oncoming night. His detached but cunning attitude was completely the opposite of Lykouleon's open naiveté.

"What do you think of the new knight candidates?"

"They'll do," was all Nadil allowed himself to say, but it was enough for Lykoleon to realize that they weren't up to _his_ standards.

"Well, then you'll just have to show them how things work, hm?" the blonde-haired prince smiled.

"Indeed," Nadil returned the smile, but without the warmth that Lykouleon's had. Instead, he leaned forward, cupping the prince's face, tantalizing those pale lips with his tongue before firmly encircling them. He felt Lykouleon's body lean submissively into him, as always, and pressed for entrance into his mouth. He received it without hesitation, and let his hands wander aimlessly, up Lykouleon's shirt. No complaints left his lips, only timid moans and small sounds of pleasure, and Nadil reveled in it. The little Prince was just putty in his hands, and he loved every second of dominance that was yielded to him.

Had Lykouleon ever thought about it seriously, he would have realized how easily he'd been used. But he was like a horse with blinders, and nothing anyone would have ever said would have changed his opinion of Nadil.

Nadil gave one last teasing tug to Lykouleon's lips before leaning back, a pleased gaze running over Lykouleon's lightly swollen lips, the crimson flush spread over his delicate face as he looked up breathlessly at Nadil.

"Beautiful..." Lykouleon's blush spread a deeper color.

"You're- you're going on a mission tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Yes, my Lord. There has been a demon outbreak in Hermosa."

"Can't I go with you?"

"It is dangerous, Your Majesty, and I'm sure your father would not agree."

The blonde prince bit his lip, looking away, "Come back quickly…"

Nadil bent his head respectfully, "As you wish, my Lord," his breath ghosted over Lykouleon's ear, making him draw in a shuddering breath, "Good night, Lykouleon."

Emeralds watched the violet-haired demon make his departure, the moon playing shadows on his cape, oblivious to the fact that betrayal was taunting them from around the corner.

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**Hope you liked... I know it was odd :shrug: They're interesting to work with though, and I'm... hoping to elaborate on another idea with them. On another note... does anyone like Loveless? OMG it's the best shounen-ai anime I have EVER EVER watched. :squeals: Hands down a complete 10 out of 10. You can find great subs by WE SUCK on BitTorrent, and all 12 epys of the first (hopefully there'll be a second) season are out! It's cute, and angsty, and funny and sweet and heartbreaking all at the same time.**

**Puppy:hides: eek, spyware. And I have problems with the grounding issues all the time. Glad to see you're still with me though! **

**Angstluver: Lol, you do realize half of those were redundant? Still, it was a pretty interesting list. :happy: **

**Kage: Thanks!**

**Vera-chan: Yup, Looooove KH, just haven't played the game :Sweatdrop: Same thing with the FF series... anyway, thank you!**

**Lost and Far Away: Thank you! They are cute :glomp: **

**Next... Kaistern/Tetheus! Yaaaaay:had incredible fun writing the next one: Sadly though, I think I'm gonna be mean this chapter and hold my chapter hostage until I get 207 reviews. Appreciate all my reviewers though! **


	24. Drawing: TetheusKaistern

**Woohoo! 209::ecstatic: The 200 mark has been breached::in awe: Wow. Thank you everyone! Can you believe that since they put the hit counter up, this fic's been visited almost 600 times::complete utter awe: **

**Warnings: shounen-ai, Tetheus/Kaistern. **

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**_Dragon Knight Snippets_**

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Kaistern whistled cheerfully as he opened the large wooden door to the castle's library, sauntering to the shelves to find the book Thatz has asked him to find. It was some book about a place Kaistern had visited before, and was widely known for its hidden riches.

His gaze strayed off, and he blinked as he noticed a black-clad figure sitting in one of the comfy chairs.

Tetheus, eyes closed in quiet slumber.

It was very rare to catch Tetheus off guard, especially asleep as he was, head resting against an arm propped on the armrest, and Kaistern smiled warmly. Then, as he looked back to the book in his hands, his gaze crossed a black marker, and a mischievous grin pulled at his mouth.

Kaistern had to fight to keep his laughter under control as he surveyed his artwork. Curly eyebrows, a fuzzy moustache, a goatee and various other doodles- a misshapen heart, flowers, the traditional tic-tac-toe marks, and something that if you looked to the side a bit kinda looked like Crewger- that now graced the Black Officer's sleeping face, and Kaistern couldn't have been prouder had he been Rath after killing a horde of demons, or Lykouleon after escaping the castle.

He was about to turn and make a sly and sneaky escape but was stopped by a leaden grip on his wrist, and he was whirled back to meet icy red eyes.

"Very funny," Tetheus spoke in a soft, dangerous voice. Lemon eyes widened as Kaistern laughed nervously, but the black officer continued.

"I'm going to have to punish you."

Kaistern gasped, but it was muffled by the demanding pull of lips on his. There was something ridiculously funny about Tetheus kissing him ardently with scribbles all over his face, but Kaistern was a bit too occupied to imagine the visual not to mention that his mind had practically abandoned him. Both his wrists were now firmly pinned above him, and he was pushed back onto another chair, yielding completely under Tetheus' strength. Heat trailed into his mouth and along the inside of his cheeks, and he moaned softly before it was suddenly snatched away.

Kaistern registered in his hazy mind that Tetheus had gotten up, a slight smirk on his face, leaving Kaistern laying there, limp and breathless.

"What… what kind of a punishment is that?" he managed to say in between breaths, still flushed and slightly dizzy from excitement. The Black Officer's smirk grew wider, and then he was gone.

The next morning, as Kaistern walked into the bathroom, catching a glance of his face on the mirror, he realized that the kiss hadn't been the punishment after all.

* * *

**:whistles: Man, I love Kaistern... he is so much fun to play with. **

**I think... I'll do a Kaistern/Alfeegi one next, but I'm putting the angst/scary warning up now. Might do something fluff at the end::hasn't finished yet: **

**Kage Ohkami: Yeah... when I first got the request for the pairing I was like... O.o. But they're interesting, and the only way i can see them together is while Nadil was a Dragon Knight, and... still evil. **

**Puppy: ... :laughs: MAJOR relationship counseling. 'So, what's the problem?' 'He stole my wife and tried to kill me!' 'He cut off my head!' :cracks up: ... :stares: Rune/Nadil? oh my... **

**Angstluver: Nice!Nadil scares me... it's not right, ppl!And yeah, it was actually a pretty quick response. **

**Lost and Far Away: Yaaaay::claps: I actually can't get anythign done with free time .**

**Lady Eos: Yeah, interestingly enough, they somehow work out... I wanna write more, but I gotta come up with a scene... ideas, anyone? **

**Vera-chan: Well, I was afraid I'd screwed it up myself. I love Kaistern too::huggles baby: I hope you liked this one::Points sword: Do not mention the D word and kaistern in the same sentence :is hoping for a resurrection:... **

**Misty: Well, i don't really like holding chapters hostages, I guess I was just a bit disappointed at the steady drop in reviews, while the hits were going up. **

**Isis-Ishtar: I think you were the one who requested the pairing in the first place. Sorry it took so long :sweatdrop::sigh: i don't know if I'm updating Comfort in the Snow. I've kinda moved on to all my other fics, and though I had more of the plot... it's a fairly good ending place there. I might update it in the future though... :hopes she'll get inspiration: **

**Aquajogger: Yeah... I have to come up with more stuff with the Knights... Plots are a total hassle. About the Nadil/Lyk... Yeah, i was kinda going for that more reflective feeling, but wasn't sure how to skip forward to the future without kinda screwing something up. But yeap- that's actually a perfect analyzis of what this ficlet whas supposed to be! You hit the nail on the head completely. :happy: Feel the Nadilian lips. :laughs: **

**Thank you everyone! Hope you liked this chapter, and as usual... review! Pretty please! Review so I don't hold chapters hostage! (I have this goal of keeping the reviews per chapter at 9) **


	25. Drunk and Alone: AlfeegiKaistern

**Hello! It's a Kaistern/Alfeegi one! Edited, cause fanfiction's quickedit does some weird stuff to spacing - hence the words stuck together, or separated and added to other words... etc. **

**Warnings: Suicidalness, angst, some shounen-ai, some fluff. **

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**_Dragon Knight Snippets_**

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Kaistern was at his worst when drunk and alone. Just drunk wasn't enough, since he spent most of his time like that anyway, and when he was with someone he had the bad habit of pushing his worries to the back of his head and pretending the world was candy-coated. No, Kaistern alone and drunk was never a good combination.

The cool early-morning breeze was immensely refreshing on his warm face. The sun hadn't risen yet, would not for almost an hour, the world looking peaceful and calm as he looked at it from above with dull eyes, sitting on the balcony of one of the castle's towers. The trills and swells of songbirds filtered from below, but Kaistern wasn't up to enjoying the scenery or listening to sounds.

His stomach heaved painfully, and he turned to the side, alcohol and stomach acid burning the lining of his throat and mouth, intensifying the dizziness of his head twofold.

"Gross," he muttered weakly, leaning his head back, trying to slow his rapid breathing into something with less motion. When that appeared totake too long for his tastes, he lifted a trembling hand to unscrew another bottle of beer, the kind he kept stashed under his bed for consumption at times like these, and took a large swallow.

He struggled up, staggering against the wall for a couple seconds before regaining unsteady footing and looking over the balcony.

"I wonder… how long a drop that is…" he slurred, gazing unfocusedly at the ground. From here, the guards that stood at the castle entrance below him were no bigger than his thumb, and the guard dogs no more than his pinky.

"Would I have enough time to say I'm sorry before I hit the ground?" he wondered out loud, raising his knee to clamber over the edge. But the action threw him off balance and he fell backwards, back onto the floor. A ragged groan escaped his mouth, pale face stained pink by a steady flush. He forced his body to sit up, leaning once again against the wall.

Glazed lemon-colored eyes gazed at the ceiling, not quite seeing the ceiling lightening on the verge of the coming sun, going from midnight black to a dawning gray, lost in thought as his hand mechanically raised and lowered to supply his body with more numbing alcohol.

That was how Alfeegi found him an hour later, half conscious and trying to coax the last drop of beer from the bottle, mumbling incoherencies.

For a moment, he wasn't sure what to do, and could only stare as lemon eyes gazed blankly at him. Sudden fear rose in his throat, along with traces of bile and a hitched breath.

"'Feegi?"

The weakened whisper sounded like a plea for help, and Alfeegi was broken out of his trance and rushed to him, prying the empty bottle away from him as quickly as possible without hurting him. His heart was drumming uncontrollably, urging his body faster.

"Kaistern? What are you doing here? You had everyone worried," he scolded shakingly, fear making his voice sharper that it should have. His hands seemed to be on autopilot, urgently checking Kaistern over, sighing with relief as he saw that his body was for the most part, intact. God forbid it would be like last time, Alfeegi thought, glancing at the albino's wrists, where the scars were still visible.

"Feegi, guess what?" Alfeegi wasn't sure he wanted to hear. Kaistern had that dangerous habit of playing things down when he was with others, and when drunk it was even worse, "I tried to jump off the balcony, but I fell back and couldn't."

Alfeegi wanted to cry and slap Kaistern at the same time for saying something like that with that innocently cheerful smile, with that disappointed tone in his voice, like a little kid who'd tried to catch a butterfly only to have it flutter away at the last moment.

Instead, he gazed directly into Kaistern's eyes, light-lemon eyes colored dark by worry and despair, frantic underneath their dullness, glazed over by the toxic grip of alcohol.

"Come here," he murmured, pulling Kaistern over carefully, aware of the heat radiating from his skin, the nauseated groan that slipped from his lips at the motion, though Alfeegi tried to make it as slow as possible.

He waited, letting Kaistern get a grip of the situation. Soon, the soothing strokes Alfeegi's hand was tracing on his back and the coaxing murmurs would make him break down and talk. Sure enough, there came a rasping sob that racked through his thin frame, and his grip tightened on Alfeegi's shirt.

"I don't know, Feeg, there's just something wrong…" his voice cracked, and Alfeegi closed his eyes, pressing the lithe officer's body closer. He was surprised at how small Kaistern really was, there was just something about his personality that made him seem bigger and stronger…

"M' family… are all dead, the last one died a couple months ago. And Rath hates me, and I screwed up on the last mission at Chantel… And other stuff too… guess most of 'em are just lil things," he laughed deprecatingly, "But they still hurt…" he gave the barest shake of his head, before continuing in a drunken voice, "I'm just so tired…"

It was unnerving to see Kaistern like this. It felt so unreal to Alfeegi,to seehis constantly smiling friend so depressed and broken down.

Kaistern's head lolled forward, bumping his forehead onto Alfeegi's jaw, as he groaned softly, "I feel sick."

"Have you been here all night?" sunset eyes focused on the dawning horizon, waiting for the hesitant nod against his chest before sighing, "Come on."

Lifting Kaistern carefully into his arms, Alfeegi stood, leaving the balcony and empty bottles behind him. Kaistern's breath on his neck was uneven, his eyes half-lidded and unresponsive. His face fit comfortably on the crook of his neck, even if the skin was uncomfortably warm.

"I didn't even think you could pick me up, much less carry me…" Kaistern muttered absently, his voice strained like stretched-out plastic, "Where…?"

"Your room. You can sleep today off if you want. In fact, you better do."

The light-haired officer was silent, feeling the rise and fall of his steps, raising his hand to his mouth only to find that there was no bottle in it.

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

Alfeegi glanced at him, his sharp words contradicted by the sadness in his eyes, "Sorry I found you or sorry you didn't get to jump?" the silent response was enough for the White Officer to know he'd hit the mark, "Why don't you talk to us? Don't you know," he swallowed before continuing, "how worried you make us?"

"I'm sorry," Kaistern repeated, looking away dejectedly, "I guess I just didn't want… _this,_" he motionedat him and Alfeegi.

"We would much rather listen to your problems than find you dead," Alfeegi snapped nervously. He didn't mean to, but the sickening feeling in his stomach, the ice block that formed every time he remembered the last time, and imagined what had almost happened _this_ time, was enough to send his sensitivity out the window, replaced with bitter fear.

"Who do you have?" Kaistern looked him in the eye, and Alfeegi deciphered the hidden question- _Who do I have?_

"Kaistern, I have you and Ruwalk and Rune and Tetheus, and everyone else. And you have me and Tetheus to talk to at the least. And Rath, Ruwalk and Lykouleon would give their lives to help you, too. You're not alone, you can talk to us. You don't have to be perfect," his voice choked, "I thought you'd understood that last time."

Somehow, Alfeegi managed to open Kaistern's bedroom door without upsetting the half-conscious man in his arms, taking just as much care when easing him into bed, slipping his shirt over pale, frail-looking shoulders.

"Kaistern… when did you get so thin?" He didn't remember the light-haired officer looking so skinny last time he'd seen him…

Kaistern offered a weak smile, "'M not starving myself, if that's what you're thinkin'"

Alfeegi would have rather had Kaistern turn violent on him for making such a suggestion than having him smile so deprecatingly as he scoffed the notion. It tore at him, it hurt… out of all their fellow coworkers, Kaistern was the one Alfeegi loved the most. It _hurt_ every time he saw him come back from a mission, wounded and weary. It hurt to see how Rath was everything to him, while he would forever remain the nagging workmate. And Alfeegi had told himself that it wouldn't hurt to tell Kaistern his feelings, but right now, he doubted the Blue Officer could take a declaration of love to add to his list of confusions.

"We can talk later," Alfeegi whispered, drawing the covers around Kaistern, stroking back soft, snowy strands of hair from his forehead. Kaistern sighed lightly, opting to close his eyes instead of responding.

Alfeegi took his friend's hand in his, noting with a soft smile as Kaistern pressed it closer to himself, and only once he was sure that he was asleep did Alfeegi lean down to kiss him gently.

He might still get drunk, but Alfeegi promised he wouldn't be alone anymore.

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**Aw :huggles Kaistern and Feegi: ... I don't know where this came from... I kinda like how it turned out though. Hm... there should be more Kaistern/Alfeegi-ness... Cairnsy's (?) Kiss Kiss is an excellent Alfeegi/Kaistern fic. **

**Aquajogger:Laughs: I'll do my best to not inflict creepyness like that on anyone again. **

**Kage Ohkami: Oh yes, the kiss part was _my_ favorite too. **

**Puppy: Markers and a sleeping _anyone_ always means trouble. I think I'm addicted to kaistern/Tetheus... Gillaam is infinitely cuter though... **

**Angstluver: Apparently a little threat is what gets people to review... maybe I should simply do that for all the chapters, cause it's not that much, and according to the hits, there's more than enough ppl reading the fics for me to hold them hostage a bit. But yeah, fast turnover, I was surprised too. **

**Lost and Far Away: We did that to my dad... it was sooo funny, cause he had to go to work... and it was permanent marker... go try it out! **

**Thanks for reviewing! Don't know what the next one will be... I'll figure it out... **


	26. Complements: RathCesia TzKit RunTint

**1000 hits::party: Woohoo! Thank you everyone for reading, and in some cases, reviewing! It's a non-shounen-ai snippet (surprising, i know). Ra/Cs Tz/Kt and Ru/Ti **

**Warnings: None at all.**

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**_Dragon Knight Snippets_**

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Rath had always thought the night was beautiful. The stars were pinpoints of light shining behind a pinpricked black veil. The breeze drifted about him lazily, refreshing and calming, and Rath felt himself being lulled into a state of laxness. The cheerful conversation of Thatz and Rune hummed besides him, breaking occasionally with Rune's quiet chuckles or Thatz's deep boisterous laugh. He could hear the ballroom music drifting into the balcony they were standing on, and smell the tingling scents of the warm food that lay on the buffet table.

"Hey Rath, here comes Ceisa," Rune smiled as Thatz punctuated his words with an elbowing that made Rath choke on the wine he was sipping, "Towing along Kitchel and Tintlett," he added, grinning at Rune's light blush.

Rath took a deep breath, wondering why he was so nervous about turning around. Cesia was waiting for him, after all. Oh, wait, _that_ was what was making him nervous. Finally deciding to throw caution to hell, he calmly turned around and froze, sucking in his breath as he stood immobile. Thatz and Rune breezed past him, the first going to playfully kiss his date as the latter wrapped an arm tenderly around his.

"Hey Rath," Cesia smiled shyly, lowering her eyes in embarrassment, but to Rath, the lowering of those long, thick eyelashes over honey-golden eyes looked more coy than anything, and he felt a blush rise to his face, spreading warmly.

_She's… beautiful…_

Silk clung to her figure, an hourglass enveloped in rich dark cloth that dipped just enough at the bust tantalize, but not scandalize. Supple, pale muscle flashed behind a carefully positioned slit in the fabric, accented by the silver embroidery. Nestled on her collarbone lay a large crystal, fastened by a silk chocker. Underneath, he could see the thin thread that held her amulet.

"Um, uh, you…" he stammered, unable to get the words that had flashed through his mind to travel to his mouth and out. Cesia quirked an eyebrow at his repeated attempts at coherency, sighed, and shook her head, taking his arm.

"Well? Are you going to yammer all night or are we going to dance?"

There was an undercurrent of exasperation, and maybe bitter disappointment in her voice, and Rath wondered why. He hadn't done anything wrong, and yet the tight grip on his arm was enough to clue him in. He'd known Cesia long enough to know by the withering look she gave him and her brisk step to the dance floor that he'd done, or not done, something that clearly hadn't made her happy.

"Oh, Cesia, you look darling!" Cesia whirled around to find Cernozura making her way over, and as she engaged in small talk with her, Rath took a quick look around.

Rune and Tintlett were already dancing. Rath was entranced by how faerie-tale looking they really were. It was exactly what he'd imagined the prince and princess of his childhood fairy-tales to look like. Tintlett's translucent wings flitted gently from between curled golden tresses, and Rune held her gently, like she was water in a cup, and the slightest misstep could spill her. The elfin prince leaned forward, whispering in his princess' ear. A beautiful smile adorned her face at her lover's words, wings fluttering happily, and Rath wished he knew what Rune had been murmuring, because it obviously made her happy.

He found Thatz and Kitchel only a couple feet away and gave a despairing look to the green-haired knight. Thatz winked at him, signaling for him to pay attention, and siddled closer to Kitchel, if that was humanly possible, considering they had been close enough before for people to mistake them for a large creature with two heads.

"You look hot, baby," he smiled softly, kissing the corner of her mouth. Kitchel giggled and threw her arms over him.

"Look who's talking."

Rath decided it was high time for him to look away when they began to engage in actions that so far he'd only caught when he was a kid from Lykouleon and Raseleane when they thought no one was looking.

Suddenly, Kitchel's face was below his, staring up him upside down as her dipped form was held by Thatz.

"Aren't you going to comment on her dress? She laced up pretty just for you, you know."

Rath blinked, and had to blink again as it all clicked in his mind. Kitchel giggled and gave him a conspiring wink as Thatz waved. They then disappeared back into the dancing crowd, just as Cernozura left and Cesia turned back to him.

"So, are we going to dance?" the snappy tone was still there, and Rath swallowed and nodded, taking her hand and placing his other one on her shoulder blade. He felt slightly giddy, and the pressure of her hand on his shoulder, her warm breath tousling his dangling earring as she leaned closer didn't help at all. Her scent seemed to fill the millimeter that separated their bodies, airy and sweet like fresh fruit, underscored with the dark scent that singled her as a demon.

She gave a small sigh at length, "At least you're a good dancer…"

He was about to turn on the defensive, and snap back something along the lines of 'what's that mean?' when he caught sight of Rune and Thatz watching him, making eloquent signs for him to calm down. Tintlett and Kitchel looking at him with a mix of amusement and curiosity, and Kitchel motioned to her dress.

"Oh," he blushed and looked down, turning back to Cesia, keeping his eyes lowered, "Um, Cesia…"

"Yeah?"

"You, uh, look really nice," okay, so it wasn't exactly break-through in originality or slickness, but it was the best he could do with his hear hammering in an odd rush he'd only previously associated with demon-hunting ecstasy. After a pause, he ventured a look up.

"T-thanks," her face was crimson too, but there was a soft smile on her lips, and Rath was glad to have made up whatever he'd done wrong in the first place. As she raised her eyes to Rath's, they locked for a moment before both looked away embarrassedly.

It was then that Rath realized that Cesia was very much like the night- they were both beautiful.

* * *

**I'm holding the next chapter hostage (don't know what it is yet) until I get 230 reviews. Any suggestions for upcoming snippets?**

**Old Fiat- I read it. I had to leave though, so I didn't get a chance to review, but I might drop by to do that. It's snippet, not drabble (which you spelled wrong) and I have the choice to read something or not, especially if it's not that good anyway. **

**Vera-chan: Kaistern is huggable, and loveable, and adorable :huggle: **

**Angstluver: I felt kinda bad for making Kaistern suicidal and depressed... i really need to write a happy Kaistern/Alfeegi... hope you had fun on vacation! Country fair... wow, that'd be so cool! Kiss Kiss was beyond awesome. Thank you! **

**Aquajogger: Sounded like you were having a bad day and I didn't help it with the depressing snippet :sweatdrop: Sorry about that. **

**Puppy: Ice skating! That's an awesome idea! Hm, maybe we can have that happy Kaistern/Alfeegi after all... drunk dragon knights fun **

**Kage Ohkami: Lol. Thank you::pats Kaistern: I'll be nicer to him next snippet. It was sad... I feel bad for Kai-kai and Feegi. **

**Next snippet... I guess it'll be ice-skating! Or who knows, I migh just come up with some random idea and use it instead... til next chapter! **


	27. Skating: RuwalkTetheus KaisternAlfeegi

**Eeek, forgive me- a. cause of the long time it too to update, and b. because I think I just totally butchered the characters. -hides- Oh well. **

**Anyway... this is more of a fun filled one, so.. uh... don't mind the randomness too much. **

**Enjoy! And thanks to all the reviewers of the last chapter! Glad to see it was liked so much. -happy-**

**Warnings: Shounen-ai, little language. Ruwalk/Tetheus, Kaistern/Alfeegi, all others are straight couples. **

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_**Dragon Knights Snippets: Skating**_

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There are two types of people in the world, Kaistern thought. Those who can skate and those can't. 

It was pretty amusing to see who fell in which category.

Winter had been particularly ferocious this year, and for the first time in many decades, the large lake behind the castle grounds had frozen over. Kaistern, accompanied by three eager knights and one Ruwalk, had rallied everyone to come ice-skating. The gals had immediately volunteered to bring warm food and hot cocoa, and so it had turned into what Kaistern liked to call, in his incredibly original mind, 'The Ice-Skating Picnic Outing.'

It had been a quick matter to see who had previous experience on the ice, and who had stepped on it for the first time in their lives. After a couple minutes to familiarize themselves with the ice, only a few had come out unscathed and zipping off along the ice.

Rune and Tintlett had good-naturedly given up after repeated failed attempts to even stand, opting instead to sit on a log at the edge, sipping hot chocolate as they watched everyone. Kaistern guessed that living in the tropical faerie forest, they rarely experienced snow, much less ice. Delte was in the same boat, though she had tenaciously stuck to it, but after several scrapes that had only led to a wobbly stance, she had decided to join the other two faeries into conversation.

Thatz and Kitchel had turned out to be unnaturally good, zipping circles around everyone. They claimed it was because of a contest they had forfeited their rivalry to join during their thieving years. The prize must have been pretty good to have forced them to work together, Kaistern mused, remembering the bickering they displayed on a constant basis when they'd first met under the Dragon Palace. Of course, nowadays they made up for that bickering with long absences from which they came back giddy, and in Kitchel's case, giggly, which was never a good sign when dealing with women. In fact, Kaistern figured it wouldn't be too long before they mysteriously disappeared together again.

"Bet I can beat you one-lap around," Ruwalk swept up from behind Kaistern, grinning widely.

"You're on," Kaistern smirked, "Eat my… uh… ice-chips."

"Smooth."

They laughed, then exchanged competitive glances before setting off at full speed, bodies bent forward to get the most aerodynamic form as their legs pumped powerfully. Raseleane's hat flew off as they zoomed by, Lykouleon reaching out to catch it and slipping, falling into a sprawling heap at his giggling queen's feet. Alfeegi and Tetheus craned their heads from their safe spot next to the railing that surrounded part of the lake, staring open-mouther- or almost, in Tetheus' case- at the other two speeding officers.

"Woohoo! Go Kaistern! Kick his ass!" Rath cheered him as Cesia clung to his arm to keep her balance, and Fire did a little air dance. Whether he was cheering Ruwalk or Kaistern, the little dragon didn't elaborate. A survival tactic, since Kaistern suspected it was Ruwalk (the man had always been generous with his food towards Fire) but going against his master's preferences was probably not a smart thing to do.

Zoma skated out of the way as Kaistern and Ruwalk neared him, neck-to-neck, rooting for both of them. Ringleys decided to join the race, flying from Zoma's side, a little glowing sphere flittering between them. They hadn't been able to find a pair of skates in his size, so the little faerie had to settle for flying among them, alternating between Zoma and the other faeries' side, as well as Kitchel occasionally.

"Wow, you two are fast," he said cheerfully. His little wings fluttered happily, clearly enjoying the fact that he could easily fly twice as fast as they were skating, and so flew circles around their heads.

The finish point was almost there, and Kaistern had managed to get ahead by a couple feet, but Ruwalk was gaining on his fast.

They couldn't remember where exactly the finish point was though, and so they ended in a draw, collapsing to ground and trading good-natured jibes as they fought to catch their breath.

"I… went easy… on you, remember that," Kaistern said between gulps of air.

"That's why… your face is… beet red, right?"

Kaistern grinned, hoisting himself back on his feet and helping Ruwalk up too. They skated lazily back to the railing, where Tetheus was watching Alfeegi's rather pathetic attempts to move forward. Ruwalk made a rather conspicuous entrance by skating backwards with the minimum amount of effort. Tetheus simply laughed at his lover's attempt to rub it in their face how much they sucked, but Alfeegi pouted.

"Show off," he muttered.

"At least I can skate."

"But you can't beat me," Kaistern interjected, resting his elbows on the railing. Tetheus sipped his hot chocolate as Ruwalk hooked his arm around his.

"I was _this_ close!"

"Anyway… how's it going with you two?" Kaistern grinned.

Tetheus shrugged, his lips twitching into a small smile, "I'm not answering."

"It sucks," Alfeegi sulked from the floor, and Kaistern laughed and helped him up with one hand, kissing his forehead.

"Leave me alone, I can do it myself," he said, only making Kaistern laugh harder. Alfeegi struggled up, only to have his legs fly out from under him again, "Ouch."

The other three officers laughed, and Alfeegi glared at them venomously.

"You have no idea how much I hate you."

"Why don't you let me help then, 'Feeg?"

"No!" Alfeegi insisted, "I'm going to learn how to do this on my own."

"Glaring at the ice won't make it nicer towards you," Ruwalk pointed out.

Alfeegi ignored him, clumsily skating away from them. To his credit, he only fell twice in the ten feet he managed to travel.

"I'm gonna skate a bit more. Coming, Kaistern?"

"Nah, I think I'm gonna stay here for a bit. It's funny to watch Feegi."

"Alright," he said, patting Tetheus' arm before speeding off again. Tetheus and he sat there quietly, getting a few good laughs at Alfeegi's increasingly successful, but still pathetic struggling. He flailed his arms, frustrated, and stomped rather childishly on the ground, which only resulted in another tumble.

"Isn't he cute?" the Blue Officer said cheerfully, leaning his elbow on the railing as he placed his chin on his hand. Tetheus merely shrugged, as either answer would have been wrong to say, and Kaistern grinned, "I bet you're jealous that I get a cutie like that, while all you have is Ruwalk."

Tetheus rolled his eyes and chuckled, to Kaistern's mild confusion.

"yeah, cause Kaistern likes someone who keeps him on a short leash."

Kaistern eeped and whirled around to look into Ruwalk's mischievous face.

"Oh, hey Ruwalk," he said nervously.

"Yup, you like being dominated like a pup to a big bad wolf."

"I do not!"

Kaistern pouted as Tetheus watched with amusement, "What, you think I do every little thing he asks and bend to his every whim? For your information, it's me who has him wrapped around my little finger."

"Kaistern!" Alfeegi wailed pitifully from his spot on the ground. He struggled up on the slippery ice only managing to slip again in a tangle of limbs again.

"Coming!" Kaistern said immediately.

Ruwalk snickered and Tetheus smirked.

"Riiight. He has you licking off the palm of his hand."

Kaistern huffed, "Well, I bet _you're_ not the one in charge either, so don't talk."

Tetheus decided to interfere before Ruwalk either lied, or said something that would embarrass the black officer, "I think you better go, this is the third time he's tried to get up."

"Oh, right," Kaistern blinked and set off, trailing gracefully across the ice to where Alfeegi was sitting with his arms crossed.

Ruwalk turned to Tetheus, wrapping his arms lazily around his neck to lean up and kiss him, "I think he's the one who should be jealous, don't you think? After all, he doesn't have a witty, wonderfully lover like me, right?"

"Definitely," Tetheus responded, kissing Ruwalk's playful grin away.

"Geez, you and your butter-flavored toffee," he mutered, leaning comfortably against the black-clad officer as he licked his lips, trying to find remnants of the sweet flavor.

Tetheus lifted a questioning eyebrow, and Ruwalk shrugged.

"I found your stash in your room. It seems like you're always eating one, cause you always taste like it."

The eyebrow went up further, "When have you been in my room alone? I'm always with you."

"Secret," Ruwalk smiled, skating backwards a couple feet, laughing as Tetheus tried to lunge at him, but his feet very nearly gave out and he took hold of the safety of the railing again.

"Ooh, I like this, I can say whatever I want and you can't reach me."

"That's if you're trying to spend your whole life on the ice, by which time I _will_ have learned how to skate."

"What a sport," Ruwalk laughed, "Here, I'll teach you."

He then proceeded to roughly pull Tetheus from his comfortable spot against the railing, sending him flying into Ruwalk, and the both toppled backwards onto the cold ice.

Tetheus glared down at Ruwalk as he burst out laughing, biting his nose teasingly before easing himself off the brunet and gingerly standing up.

"Not funny," he muttered as Ruwalk's laughing faded and he stood up too.

"It's okay, the ice likes you, really," he laughed again, taking Tetheus' arm and pulling him forward again. The Black Officer valiantly held out on his own for three full strides before slipping on ice dust and landing harshly on his back. Ruwalk couldn't help laughing again at the image of Tetheus laying sprawled on his back before sitting up and rubbing his backside.

"That's it, I will not be made a fool of," he mumbled darkly, "I am the Black Dragon Officer, the head of security-"

"And you can't skate."

Tetheus graced his lover with the coldest gaze he could muster. Then he stopped, looked up at Ruwalk, and said, "Can you help me up?"

"Of course, honeybun."

Ruwalk only narrowly managed to evade Tetheus' swipe at his head.

* * *

**Alright, here are thereponses I said I'd write! **

**Lady Eos: thank, I hope you keep on reading!**

**Puppy: I actually like all the f/m pairings in DK, even ones that are more implied. Ra/Cs, Kit/Tz, Ru/Tint, Lim/R, delte with anyone (lol), Rima/Feegi...thank you!**

**Kage:Het hides too Lol. Thatz and Kit are just so quirky and dynamic they're fun to work with, but I don't bring that out to its full extent... Kiss Kiss is awesome isn't it? I adored it! **

**Angstluver: Thank you, I'm glad you foudn it funny. And ever since you said that about Tetheus falling on his butt I haven't been able to get it out my head. lol/ **

**Vera-chan: Thanks for all your support! I'm glad you liked it. **

**Peophin-chan: Thanks, it took me a while to find the right wording to express what I had in my mind. **

**Evalita: O.O :gasp: Yes! I have to! Gil/Bierrez...and I have a good scenario in my mind too! oomy, i've got to write that sometime... **

**Lost and Far Away:I love that name, lol. Poor Cesia. She's either liked or hated, lol. Glad you liked the last one, though it was depressing... :pats Kaistern: **

**Blackcat: thanks.**

**LIzzy: yeah, I gotta figure out something for a Rune/Thatz chapter... **

**ShadownDown: Yeah, eventually I'll have another Ruwalk/Feegi soon, I guess right now I'm trying to go for greater diversity, and to finish writing all those that I've had stuck in my head for a while. Tetheus sleepign is amusing, which is why I put it there. ... O.o woa. That'd be sooo creepy if one of the charac went to past and saw Nadil and Lykouleon... yeah... wow. That would be creepy beyond he11. **

**Aerith: Thanks. **

**Kitty2Satana; Good, you got the scans. They're pretty cool, aren't they? I love Gil's outfit and hair... Thank you so much! **

**Old Fiat: I found the comment about me sounding like your friend mad at you amusing. Hm... skinnydipping's a bit out of my range :sweatdrop: I guess I shirk nudity? Who knows though. **

**Capella: Cue cards::lifts one up- 'I'm an idiot': Rath- "I'm an idi- what?" LOL. I acutally just felt like having her have wings cause they're pretty. And actually, I do havea semi-shoujo-ai smippet halfway typed up :snicker:**

**THANK YOU EVERYONE :happy face:**


	28. Selfish: ThatzKitchel

**Wow. It's been over two weeks. I'm really sorry. Part of is that I'm "grounded" from the computer, and that school has really dropped a heavy workload, and it's only the second week! . **

**Thanks a lot to my reviewers! I really appreciate the feedback, and because I don't have the time now and I'm sure you'd rather ge the fic now, I won't respond to the reviews today, but I'll come back and edit this to add the comments (hopefully tomorrow) :suddenly things: wait, did I do that for the last snippet too? Oh my... well, I definitely have to write responses to all those then... sorry! **

**Warnings: language. Alcohol, possible implied shounen-ai? (if you wanna take it that way) and Kitchel/Thatz**

**ENJOY! BTW I edited and there's responses at bottom. On the last snippet too, so check those if you want too. **

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**_Dragon Knight Snippets: Selfish_**

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Thatz and Kitchel got drunk. A lot.

Though normally it was Kitchel who coerced her thieving partner into spending a couple hours down at the local bar to see how much alcohol it took to be able to see shooting stars when you looked up at the sky, she didn't do it for herself.

Outgoing as he was, Thatz often his troubles to himself, and unlike a certain transparent Fire Knight, was actually able to hide them dreadfully well. He rivaled even Kaistern's ability to play things down.

Part of it was that he was honorable to a fault, which was ironic considering he was a thief, but that honor usually manifested itself in odd ways. Like his fellow knights, he gave all he could to accomplish the mission, even if it meant hurting himself or coming back exhausted to the point where he could barely stand for days on end. It was a fact Kitchel could not understand, hard as she tried, and one that had caused friction between them on more than one occasion. She had the good grace at least to save the bickering until after he was well-rested or healed, but she couldn't for the life of her accept it. Here was the one who wore her heart on a string, going of to keep the peace and fighting demons to save people who didn't appreciate, who discriminated and hurt him because he was human, and yet he still would fatally give it his all, only to come back in shambles to the ones who really loved him and wanted to keep him safe. It wasn't fair, and what she couldn't understand was that it kept him free inside, because he wouldn't be able to live with the guilt of knowing he tried his best to save a life.

What she couldn't blame him for was the way he look over Rath and Rune. He understood how hard it was for the both of them, especially Rath, and always tried his hardest to keep them safe, and make things easier for him, even at the cost of making it harder for himself. Then there was the relationship between Rath and Rune. He'd once told Kitchel that he'd always been a bit jealous of just how much Rath loved Rune, but that he'd prided himself in helping to keep their bond intact. This had meant everything from keeping Rune from finding the truth about Rath's demon side, to small things like lying about who had told on Rath about not doing his lessons. The result was that Thaz was often the villain, at least in Rath's mind, and he was so good at it that even Rune hadn't realized what Thatz did for him yet.

But Kitchel knew it hurt him, and that the only way he consoled himself was by the fact that they were happy, and least the most they could be.

She knew all this because he'd told her. He would have never told her all of this sober though, because he didn't want to burden her. That had always been frustrating to her, because chivalrous as it was, and no doubt about it, she loved that aspect of him as well, it did kind of tick her off that he wouldn't open himself up enough to tell her what was going on just because he was afraid of burdening her.

Nonetheless, even through the lack of communication skills he exhibited, she had been with him long enough to recognize the warnings that signaled it was time for another trip down the booze lane.

It was when he got a slightly glazed look to his eyes as he sat by the window, pretending to listen to her ramblings while his mind was fifty miles away at their last mission, or as close as the next room, where Rath and Rune were sleeping together, exhausted by the fight with their own personal problems and finding small solace within each other. Her voice would face off, until the room was silent except for Kitchel's small sigh. Then jade eyes would widen as they finally realized the lack of sound in the room, and his head would snap from the window onto her face, mildly disapproving but sympathetic.

"Sorry, I kinda spaced out for a sec," he apologized, standing and kissing her nose lightly.

"That's fine, it's only to be expected of someone as scatterbrained as you."

Thatz smiled softly, but the laugh was forced, she could tell. She'd seen the act often enough.

"I'm craving a couple beers," she said lazily, arms raised in a casual stretch as she spun and sat down on his bed, "I'm gonna go down to Master's bar 'night, you wanna come?"

It was the perfect tactic; as her boyfriend and a gentleman, he wouldn't let her go alone, though he knew very well that she could take care of herself perfectly well- she'd been doing so since before they'd even met each other, and for a long time afterwards, when they'd been rivals, he'd learned the hard way that she was definitely someone to watch out for.

"Course, babe," he grinned slightly in anticipation; Draqueen was like their second home. Or maybe the castle was.

Much later that night, or, Kitchel mused, early in the morning, after a large amount of shots- it took a lot to get either of them drunk- Thatz's eyes had the hazy look of alcohol, and his cheeks were just a touch flushed. Kitchel had carefully avoided all of the stronger drinks- Thatz was the one who needed to be drunk right now, and she needed her wits about her. She was sure the dragon knight had noticed, they knew their booze by heart, but he hadn't said anything. It was the one way in which he indulged himself. This had happened often enough that he knew what she was doing, but he let her do it anyway. Maybe he knew that there was no winning against adamant, persistent-to-a-fault Kitchel, but she was happy that it was her for once who could help him. He wanted it, she knew.

"So…" she cuddled up to him, wrapping her arm around his waist as he sloppily placed his around her shoulder, pulling her slim body to his, "What's up, baby? You've been kinda down."

"Have not," he muttered into her hair, breathing in deeply, before continuing quietly, "We're going on a mission tomorrow."

There was a pause, and Kitchel felt as if the breath had been knocked temporarily out of her.

"Oh."

He didn't say anything, and she bit her lip, feeling his arm squeeze her tighter, she could feel his breath on her scalp.

"Well then, can't I –"

"No," he cut her off, and she huffed, momentarily put off, and he stroked her hair in an attempt to soother her ruffled fur.

"You _know_ why," the argument was old, "The area's dangerous, and the people are dangerous. Alfeegi warned us to be careful. I'm not endangering you."

His gaze strayed off, and she looked up at him, watching him run a hand through his hair wearily and mutter in slurred words, "Damn... Nothing's working out… Alfeegi was telling me that His Majesty was feeling ill," Kitchel frowned at the news,"And him and Ruwalk aren't talking to each other, even though I tried to get them to… Rath's been careless and moody since Cesia left… and I think Rune's having a hard time as well with the extinctiong of his people… And they won't talk to me either," He sighed again, closing his eyes, and Kitchel squeezed his hand, knowing how much that little fact hurt him, "They got into a fight yesterday."

"They'll be alright. They always will in the end."

He didn't respond, as if taking her words and wondering what they meant exactly.

Kitchel knew this routine. It didn't take long for Thatz to finally spill, in fact, it was a wonder he kept all this to himself for so long. He hardly ever worried about himself, always looking out for others. She wished he'd let her go with him on the missions. She wanted so badly to be with him, and to help him. She hated having to wait long weeks for him to come back while he was alone out there and she was left to worry. She knew he was only trying to protect her from seeing the cruel brutality that he often saw, not only _youkai,_ but human too. It made her angry anyway, even if inside she understood. At least she knew that Rune and Rath would be there to help him, because despite their closeness to each other, they loved Thatz too, and if it came to it, they would die for him without a moment's hesitation. It was one of the few consoling thoughts she could come up with.

Hazel eyes looked up at his tired one, and smiled gently, touching his cheek, "You're so selfless it's selfish."

He grinned, but it was serious nonetheless, "That's why I have you too keep me selfish, right?"

* * *

**Ugh, is it just me, or do I screw them up horribly? They're a nice couple to write, and I seem to like Thatz more than I realized... he's just such a sociable character. **

**Puppy: Yeah, honeybun. . It was actually kind of embarrasing putting that there, but i thought it'd be funny. His face would have been priceless. Definitely random, but that's the beauty of snippets, lol. **

**Kaouru: It was? Probably :sweatdrop: Thanks. **

**Kage: Yeah, it probably wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but I had tons of fun writing it. Definitely out there when it comes to... whatever that was. **

**Angstluver: I had fun making Ruwalk tease Tetheus :snicker: I love having characters tease each other, but Idon't exactly do it right,so it doens't come out all that good, lol. Alfeegi's an ice-skating loser::huggles: **

**Vera-chan: Yup, eat my ice chips. Kinda like when swimmers say eat my bubbles. I swear, they do::seen it with her own eyes at swim meets: They write it all over themselves with water-prrof marker, lol. **

**crazy-meow-meow: Good, I was sure the pairings would scare anyone off cause they're totally opposite what's usually done... I'm personally a sucker for K/T and R/A, but I like K/A too. R/T is kinda out there... And yes, I'll read your fic, definitely! Not sure when, but I'll get to it. **

**Aquajogger: Train! oooh, fun! Where'd you go? Lol, drawing anywhere other than a hard flat unmoving surface is hard. Yeah, Ringleys doesn't feel the love as much, lol. Poor ... thingy... I don't know if I can come up with something Ringleys themed, but I wanna try to write more stuff with him included. **

**Lost and Far Away: Yeah, I don't know why R/T aren't as compatible with each other as the others...wow. Just between the 4 officers there's6 pairings possible, and out of those... hm... R/A and K/T is normal, K/A I like, and then the other three... K/R just seems like ... they don't contrast each other at all, thought it would make sense cause they're so similar. A/T would make sense too cause they're similar, but once again it seems like they would be too serious... then there's R/T, and for some reason, they have the least appeal to me. Don't know why... **

**Old Fiat: Lol. I'm sure that got old to you. But you don't have to read them, you know. I did warn that there was shounen-ai. thanks anyway. **

**DOE: GIllaam :huggles: thank you! **

**nanrz: Thanks. They're really fun to write. I hope you liked the Gil/Ram one, if you got a chance to read it. **

**DarkKeeper: Yeah, I just threw that race in. It wasn't there originaly, lol. Who was Fire cheering for? The world will never know. Lol.

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**

**Thanks a lot for your reviews people! They're really fun to read. Next I think there's going to be... a shoujo-ai one. Now, before you think yuck::laughs: It's not quite what it sounds, and is more humor than anything, and Thatz/Kitchel, Rath/Cesia Rune/Tintlett fans will like it. Maybe someday I'll write a real shoujo-ai one. **

**Next update at 272 reviews. Got two snippets halfway typed, and if I sit down and force myself to write, I should have it up in less than a week. Maybe even by monday, since I have the weekend... **

**BTW, does anyone know where to get good X (1999) scanlations? **


	29. Experience: KitchelCesia RuneTintlett

**Bwahaha, it's another snippet! Now, this one I've said is shoujo-ai, but nothing happens, and it's not actually... the pairings are actually straight. **

**Warnings: Lone cuss word, implied shoujo-ai, but nothing actually happens. Girly talk. **

**Enjoy!**

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_**Dragon Knights Snippets: Experience**_

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"They're so cute together," Kitchel sighed dramatically, twirling a ribbon between her fingers.

"Oh, I know! – Pass," Kitchel placed the ribbon into Cesia's waiting hand, and the fortuneteller finished tying up the braid that now adorned Kitchel's hair.

"How far do you think they've gone?" Kitchel's voice was wonderingly curious. Cesia patted her hair once and sat down on her bed, watching Kitchel swing her legs back and forth as she sat on the edge of the balcony.

"I don't know. They seem like the shy type."

"Yeah, but they're so comfortable with each other that it probably means they've done a lot with each other," the thief said wisely.

"But they're not married," Cesia defended.

Kitchel raised her eyebrow as if wondering what the hell that had to do with it, "Ces, hun, they're _soulmates_, that's like- no, _more_ than being married."

Cesia considered this and found that it made sense. Standing, she made her way to the other girl and looked below.

On a bench, swallowed in flowers, sat the faerie couple they'd been talking about. They were apparently admiring the flowers, as Tintlet pointed and giggled and Rune spoke.

"So, how far have _you_ gone?"

Cesia was taken aback by Kitchel's sudden attack, but it wasn't the first time said girl had made slightly intrusive comments or questions. And not just to her, since Cesia didn't mind anymore, but there was no one in the castle who hadn't been the victim of one of Kitchel's embarrassing inquiries, much to the amusement of certain people (until it happened to them).

Cesia stammered a bit, blushing red enough to make the rubies hanging from her ears jealous, and fingered her hair nervously.

"Me and Thatz and done _plenty_," the smirk wasn't entirely comforting, but that may not have what Kitchel had been trying to accomplish in the first place.

"I'm sure you have."

Kitchel laughed and batted her hands dismissively, "So?"

Cesia shrugged, long dark hair falling off her shoulders, "Well, not much really… nothing past kissing-" Kitchel's eyes widened and the demon girl crossed her arms defensively, "Hey, we haven't been together all that long, and he's a moody guy. And shy."

Kitchel nodded knowingly, "That stinks. I don't know what it's like to have a guy like that, but I sympathize anyway."

Cesia sighed and flopped on the bed, "And I don't have any experience. That's actually the biggest problem, cause he doesn't have any either, and so it's… awkward."

Kitchel clapped her hands delightedly, "Aw, it's so cute! You guys are each other's firsts! Thatz and me didn't have that."

She winked, and suddenly Cesia felt very uncomfortable, like a bird nearing a sleeping cat whose mouth was open _just_ enough to show the worm hanging between its teeth, and for the little bird to slip in. That, couple with the mischievous smile, made Cesia edge away slightly.

"But you know, we can remedy that."

"What?" She was curious, no denying that. Kitchel grinned widely in response.

"The experience problem, of course."

Cesia gaped, "I'm not cheating on Rath with another guy just to get experience! Besides, there's no guy I would even _consider_ for this," Kitchel opened her mouth, "And I'm definitely not kissing Thatz."

The thief pouted, "Hey, he's not bad at all. And anyway, I wasn't suggesting him."

"Then _who?_"

"Me."

Cesia stared, blinked, and turned away, muttering something about hearing problems and insane people who caused them.

"Oh, come on, you've never done that either? This is what girl friends do, they practice on each other! You have no idea how many times me and Marine did this to get ready for our first dates. Even Delte asked me for help after she hooked up with Tetheus," Kitchel pointed out.

"So that's why you guys were suddenly spending all that time together!"

"Yeah, no duh. See, the greatest part is that it's a great way to get experience, and because it's with a friend, it doesn't matter at all."

Cesia looked a Kitchel dubiously, but the human girl could tell she was almost there, "C'mon, you're not cheating on him- I mean, we're not doing _anything_, and we're just friends, plus we're both girls, and you get my drift. It'll get rid of that awkward phase with Rath if you can do a little more than what you guys are doing right now," she wrinkled her nose, "Man, I don't know how you guys stand it. Just kissing? I'd be bored to death."

Cesia gave her friend a flat look and crossed her arms again, visibly hesitating, "Well… a-alright."

"Good!" Kitchel clapped her hands together. She leaned forward, tilting Cesia's head up, "We'll take it slow for now, but remember, tongue is _natural_, not weird."

OoO

"Thatz, have you seen Cesia?"

"Yo Rath. Yeah, I think she's in Kit's room, doing her hair or something. I'm heading there right now."

"Oh, I'll go with you then."

Later, they wished they'd never opened that door.

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**You know... I have friends who've actually done that. Kissing lessons (they were supposed to be doing math XD) I thought it was hilarious, and am only sad I missed it, cause it would have been sooo funny to watch. We had no experience back then, so that shoudl have been interesting... Anyway, see? It wasn't that bad.**

**Puppy: I don't know where the angsty side of Thatz came from, but I like writing it a lot. I think I like Thatz more than I let myself catch on, lol. **

**Kage: Kitchel's an interesting character, and she's fun to toy around with, lol. **

**Angstluver: School does suck.**

**Reviewer: Thanks! **

**Lost and Far Away: Scanlation is when you scana copy of the manga and translate the word bubbles into english, thereby pretty much having the manga online isntead of bying at a store. It's great for mangas that haven't come out yet, or those that have BAD publishing companies (looks at Tokyopop) Yup, they do DK, and personally, I think part of the reason it's such a hard series to understand is because they don't do all that good of a job translating. Viz is better. They don't stick at all the series they do though. I hope you kinda liked this one?**

**Dark-birdie: Yup, I need more of Thatz/Kitchel. Enthusiastic, are we? Lol. **

**Aquajogger:blush: Thank you:huggles: And I updated Possessed by a Memory yesterday, so that ones up too. Thatchel shrine, LOL! That's awesome! I want one... Wow, NY, I've never been there. That's awesome. 12 Hours... . eeeeek. **

**Old Fiat: Yeah, I'm sorry for making it seem like you have to read it or something. Who are Stacy and Clinton? O.O But Lykouleon on a game/tv show isn't a bad idea... :turning wheels: Your review somehow came through 3 times O.o **

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**Alright, Thanks everyone! Next update at 183, and it's... hm, I'm not quite sure yet. I guess slight Rune/Rath and Thatz. Dunno. Wooopa... Til next time! **


	30. Lying: ThatzRathRune

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**Wow, it's been almost a month. School's really got me swamped, plus the fact that I can pretty much only be on the computer for about two hours a day cause I'm not allowed on the computer, so I sneak on before everyone gets home. :sigh:**

**As I'm sure you noticed, I put the main pairings in the chapter titles, cause I thought it'd be helpful in remembering wich was which. Does it help any?**

**Warnings: Slight gore, angst, implied shounen-ai, if you wanna see it that way. **

**Enjoy! **

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_Dragon Knight Snippets: Lying_

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Thatz could do nothing more than to just watch, as his stomach clenched and his mind fought to deny what was so plain in front of him. He vaguely wondered if Rath would act the same way if it was him and not Rune on the ground, limp and pale, blood soaking into his clothes and sticking messily to his hair. He wondered if he would yell and cry out his name angrily, fear rattling his body like glass in an earthquake. The fear was screaming from his eyes, and Thatz knew it was reflected in his own too.

He watched as Rune's eyes fluttered open, and stared, unfocused, through heavily lidded eyes. That had never felt relief wash over him like that, his body falling lax in a sickening sensation, as if cold water had been poured inside him and running down the walls of his stomach. Blue eyes widened for a moment as he caught sight of Rath, who remained oblivious.

Thatz watched as Rath held Rune tightly, his knuckles white and his face even whiter. Had he been able to cry, he would have made the rain envious.

Rune winced, managing a weak smile, and disentangled himself from Rath's arms, who was clinging to the golden-haired elf as if letting go meant dying. Rune placed a trembling hand on his chest, his breath coming in shallow rasps, and a gentle, warm glow was emitted from his hand. Torn and gruesome, the large gashes that had been ripped into him disappeared, and Rune's moonlight-pale face gained color. The small cuts on Rath's face and arms faded, without leaving even scars, and Thatz finally found the strength to stand on legs that felt like rubber.

And then the question came, the reason that Thatz had been frozen into a mere spectator, dreaded the moment Rune would, hopefully,wake,and the reason why his eyes had been tinted with a mix of horror and pity as he'd watched Rath's fragile sanity tested by the possible death of his most dearest friend. Thatz had always been envious of how much Rath really loved Rune, and wondered if it'd ever be the same with him.

"What happened? I'll kill the demon who did this to you!"

Rune's eyes widened, and his mouth opened but no words came out. Thatz became painfully aware that he would be the one to intervene. Rune couldn't take it, he didn't know how to lie, but the truth would have fractured Rath like a porcelain cup crushed delicately under the heel of a soldier's boot.

"It's dead," he interrupted, and Rath turned to stare at him, "You passed out, and the demon headed straight for Rune-"

"Did you kill it?"

Thatz hesitated, because there were no marks on his body to show for a struggle other than the ones that had already been there, and the demon they'd been fighting had been too strong for Thatz to take it alone. Rath would see through his lie... "No, I tricked it. I dove underneath it so that it stabbed itself trying to reach me."

Rune was still staring at Rath, baby blue eyes still wide, and Thatz knew he was fighting to keep the memory of Rath's face morphing, elongating into a snout and beady eyes, canine teeth gleaming dangerously. Trying to dispel the image of Illuser's gruesome wolfish body ripping apart the demon to insignificant shreds, blood dripping conspicously from its crimson-soaked tongue, before rounding on the elf. Had Rune not called out Rath's name and snapped his mind free from his dark side's control... Thatz didn't want to think about it. Rath would have surely ... and Thatz would have followed.

Tears began slipping from Rune's ashen face, following the curve of his neck before soaking into his shirt, and Thatz felt like following suit. He wiped his eyes brashly, trying to control himself for their sakes.

"Rune, what's wrong?" Of course, Rath paid heed only to Rune, but at the moment, he figured it didn't matter. They were alive, and that was... almost good enough.

"N-nothing... I'm just relieved," Rune too, wiped his eyes, exchanging a glance half of relief, half of pity, because he knew how painful it was for Thatz. The earth knight fell to his knees, pulling them both to him and wrapping his arms around them. He kissed their foreheads and closed his eyes, pressing them tighter and wishing that it wasn't that complicated, and that lying wasn't the best way to protect them.

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**ooooh... I'm so mean to Thatz. What is it with me wanted to torture his character so much? You think that with teh frequence that I have him in my fics he'd be my fave... who knows, maybe he subconsciously is... O.o **

**Kage Ohkami: Lol, well, I hadn't until my friends had their little 'math' lesson, and it was acutally a one-time thing. I had a hard time coming up with a humoruos ending and with how I was going to write this scene, cause i had the option of starting it off with Thatz and Rath walking in on them, and them trying to explain. Lol. **

**Puppy: Lol. I'm not a big advocate of shoujo-ai, though not because I don't like it, but more cause I can't see it happening that well. I'm in too deep into shounen-ai, lol. I'm sure it took them a while to become convinced that their girlfriends weren't cheating on them with each other. **

**Shadown Down: Yeah, I like R/A and T/K better, I just kinda felt like screwing around with different pairings for once. It is always about Rath, lol. **

**Long Forgotten Howl: Lol, I'm glad you liked it. It was fun to come up with. **

**Black Angel: Lol, thanks, I'm guessing?**

**Aquajogger: That's what my friends said, and I guess it would be very helpful. You gotta get somone who already has experience though::nods wisely:**

**Dark-birdie: Lol! It would be sooo funny if guys did that too. But I think they just kinda find the nearest girl who'd do it with them and go ahead. :shakes head: Guys. **

**Old Fiat: I guess I might watch that sometime. At least you're forthcoming about not reading the snippets :shrug:**

**Capella: Lol, yup, like the swimmers, who write 'eat my bubbles' so then there's... eat my ice-chips. Lol. That one was sooo much fun to write. I'll think about that shoujo-ai. I wanna come up with something good, not something completely cracked. In the druggie sense. I love Tomoyo/Sakura, just cause it's so sweet. And Neptune and Uranus, and Mini Moon and Saturn. Lol. **

**Angstluver: Thank youuuu::happy:

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Alright, well thank you so much for your reviews! I know people have suggested stuff to me before, but I can't remember all of them, so if you have any ideas or challenges or suggestions... throw them at me! Next snippet is Rath/Thatz and coming at 298 revs.**

Tata!


	31. Pie And Grudges

**Yo:waves: back again in the swing of things. Got a couple fun ideas to work with and all that jazz. Decided to update anyway even if the quota's not filled. **

Alright... :thinks: warnings? One lame-$$ cussword. :blinks: hey... you can't put 'at' signs in here anymore?

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**_Dragon Knight Snippets: Pies and Grudges_**

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"Pie?" 

"Yes."

"You're making _pie_?" Kaistern repeated, as if to reaffirm that Alfeegi was indeed standing in front of him, apron stained with patches of flour and milk, making pie.

"_Yes_," Alfeegi grated out.

"Oh," was all the Blue Officer responded, and for the next few minutes he was silent from his spot perched atop a stool as the white secretary went about his work.

Kaistern watched as Alfeegi's hands rolled the pliable dough over powdery flour, molding it into a long cord, then took a rolling pin and flattened into an evenly thick circle. His hands were covered in a layer of flour and the occasional bit of dough. Every once in a while, he'd pinch a bit of the pastry and eat it, and so his face had gotten flour on it as well. Carefully lifting the edges of the circle, he placed it in the mold, pressing and trimming the dough that hung limply over the sides.

The cherries were glistening mouth-wateringly in the bowl, like good little children waiting in a classroom. Alfeegi took a large bowl and dropped them rather unceremoniously in it, carefully measuring the sugar and cornstarch before dropping those in too.

"Here, you can stir," the White Officer handed him the bowl, and Kaistern blinked before shrugging to himself and beginning to stir. Alfeegi watched him amusedly for a moment, almost laughing at the infantile look of concentration on Kaistern's face as he furiously beat the filling into a syrupy concoction.

A high-pitched beepingfilled the air as the timer rung and Alfeegi whirled about, wiping his hands on his already stained apron and taking an oven mitt. Heat, along with the tantalizing smell of warm, freshly baked pie, blasted into the room as Alfeegi opened the oven, reaching in cautiously to remove said pie.

"You already had one cooking? No wonder it smelled so good."

"Baking," he corrected absentmindedly, and set the steaming pastry on the counter, "And yes, I had."

Kaistern lifted a finger to dip it into the cherry filling and then yelped as the rolling pin connected painfully withhis head.

"Don't you dare," the cold glare was scary, but as soon as Alfeegi turned his back to him to inspect the other pie, Kaistern dipped his finger in anyway. Besides, he was used to Alfeegi's scary glares.

'Course, Alfeegi found out anyway, since Kaistern forgot to wipe his mouth, and another yelp followed.

"So... why'd you make two?" Kaistern asked idly once the second pie was in the oven, and the first one had cooled to an edible temperature. There was a strange look in Alfeegi's eyes, and the slight smirk on his face made the Blue Officer wary.

"Sniff it and you'll find out."

Kaistern gave Alfeegi a look that clearly doubted his sanity, but Alfeegi was smart, so he nonetheless complied, lowering his head to smell the pie closer. His nose was about an inch away from the crust when he felt a hand push his head roughly into the pie. Warmth pressed into his face in a squishy mess.

"Alfeegi! What was that for!" he barked, wiping cherry off his face and out of his eyes as he shot his head back up. He could hear someone laughing from the distance, and through his cherry-fogged vision realized it was Ruwalk laughing his ass off.

"That was for that April Fool's joke with the water," Alfeegi said shortly, turning heel and stalking out.

"Wha-" Kaistern stared in disbelief, "That- That was forty years ago! How the heck can you hold a grudge that-" he blinked, licking his lips, "Hey, this pie's good."

Ruwalk laughed harder.

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**:Laughs: I have no idea where this came from, but I thought it'd be a funny thing to do... Shortness of reviews last snippet?**

**Aquajogger: Liam? Is that Possessed by a Memory? If so... hm, I hadn't realized it, but it is kinda alike... :laughs: It wasn't intended, but you're right. Really? I kidna skimped on Rath's morphing cause I was like 'ah, i'm no gonna bother describing it too much, it's not the point of the snippet.' lol. **

**Angstluver: Wow, I'm really glad I was able to, uh, create :can't find right word: that kind of emotion. Yay! Lol, thanks for the compliment. **

**Kage::huggles Thatz too: Poor baby! I'm so mean to him, isn't that odd? Cause I wouldn't con**

**Old Fiat::shrug: It wasn't really shounen-ai, but it could have been taken that way since I wrote it with half implications of that in mind. Thanks for reading it half way. Hm, I don't know if I'll watch it, your version of wicked awesome seems a bit different than mine. **

**Puppy: Hm, that's true, he is a pretty flexible character... :pats him: Is that why I torture him so much? Lol. **

**Long Forgotten Howl: Ugh, school :shakes head: but we had a four day weekend::cheers: Is there any snippet in particular you'd like to see?

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Ooh, I'm so gonna do a Gillaam next... or type up that Rath/Thatz... which one do you want posted first?**


	32. Through the Woods: Gillaam

**It's the Gillaam::squeal: Um, it's acutally very random, but I had the last couple lines of dialogue stuck in my head... so I decided to cuild a snippet out of them, lol...**

**Warnings: Shounen-ai, language, fluff... **

**Enjoy! **

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**_Dragon Knight Snippets: Through the Woods_**

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"Oh look, it's an owl!"

Gil glanced briefly at the bird that granted them one hoot before taking off, and then quickly turned his head away to hide the blush that had permanently settled over his face. He focused on the scraggly forest path they were trekking through, trying to think of anything but the fact that Ram was holding his hand, pulling him every which way to show him whatever struck his fancy. The warm feeling that buzzed contentedly throughout his body was strangely pleasant, but Gil knew how much Ram would make fun of him if he saw the crimson stain on his face.

"Aw, won't you say something Kitten?" Gil was gullible enough to fall for the pouting tone and turned his head to explain to Ram that it wasn't that he was mad or anything— before realizing that he'd fallen hook, line and sinker. Damn Raamganas and his conniving ways… the worst thing was that Gil fell for it every single time.

"I knew it!" the crimson-haired demon laughed, kissing Gil's hand, "You're so shy, you'd think after a whole year living together you'd be more comfortable around me. It's not even like there's anyone else around!"

Gil looked down guiltily, "It's not that I'm not comfortable with you…" _It's that I'm not comfortable with myself_, he thought, and Ram ruffled his hair.

"I'm just messing with ya," he pulled the cat demon by the hand again, "C'mon, I wanna get to the village quick so we can have some time to look around the shops."

Gil followed him obediently, but suddenly froze, pulling Raamganas back sharply, making him stumble.

"Gil?"

The cat-demon sniffed the air, his eyes narrowing dangerously, "There's demons about."

"There are others around?" Ram sniffed the air, "Hard to believe you were a human when you have a better sense of smell than me," Of course, the difference in the way he and Raamganas referred to other demons was telling, "That doesn't necessarily mean trouble, you know."

"I smell blood."

Ram's eyes glinted a darker shade as he nodded, "You're right, I can smell it now."

Within seconds the small space was clearly surrounded by a small troupe of demons, and Gil slid his short-handled scythe-like weapons out, swinging the twin blades into position. Ram regretted having to take his staff out.

"Easy prey," the demon who was apparently the leader chortled, and Ram rolled his eyes. They clearly didn't know Gil…

"I'm giving you one chance to leave," Gil snarled shortly, letting the dangerous glint of his blade do the talking. If they were smart enough to listen.

"I really think you should listen, cause I'm sure it won't be a pretty outcome," Ram added, and Gil sent him a silencing look. Ram rolled his eyes again. He always turned into such a mother hen… or mother lioness…

"For _you_," one of the groupies smirked and jumped, flying into the air with the intent of bringing his blade down on Gil's head. The cat-demon snorted derisively and easily dodged, and Ram stared at him for a moment, openly amazed at the grace and flexibility of his motions.

The fight didn't last more than three minutes. A couple blows to the head here and there, and two were down, while Gil easily took care of the other three. Throughout the whole thing, Gil had somehow remained in front of Raamganas, fiercely keeping the attacking _youkai_ from getting near Ram, which he thought was rather unnecessary. Not that he didn't appreciate it, but did Gil not remember that _he_ was the one who'd saved him in the first place? He was a big boy, he could take care of himself. Ram found it all too amusing, and made sure to remember to make something special for dinner just for Gil. He often acted cold and slightly sarcastic, but there was no one more warm-hearted or loyal than him.

The leader remained, and Gil stepped up to him, trailing the edge of his blade down the demon's throat with just enough pressure to draw blood. Panic widened his eyes, and his mouth formed pleading words.

"I warned you didn't I? And you almost hurt him," Gil growled. Almost hurt him? Well, if that was what you called that swipe that missed Ram's head by at least a foot…

Gil raised his blade, and the demon seemed to be choking on his own words, trying to get a plead for mercy out before the dreaded weapon hit. Ram looked away, confused and more than a little worried that Gil was actually going to kill him… There was a dull sound as the blade made contact.

Gil leaned over to remove the blade from the trunk of the tree where it'd struck, just barely grazing the demon's cheek. Ram sighed, allayed.

"Woops, my hand must have slipped," Gil muttered offhandedly.

"And you're too lazy to pick it up again and re-stab him, right?" Ram said cheerfully.

Gil's golden eyes glared at him, "Damn right."

Ram laughed, "I knew you wouldn't kill him, you're too nice, Kitten," he said, kissing Gil's cheek.

Gil flushed, looking away, and stammering, "Ram! You just ruined the whole dangerous tough-guy image!"

Ram shrugged, grinning widely as he pointed to the demon, "He passed out from fright anyway."

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**I have way too much fun with Ram. We're not even sure what kind of a character he is::can't wait til he reappears in the DK series...: um, that's if he does. I wish he did. :wink wink: **

**PArain::grins back:**

**Angstluver: That's the beauty of it- it was totally unexpected! **

**Go-ruden Kiba: I'm guessing Alfeegi's one of your fave characters, no? I like KxA too, or AxK... **

**Capella: Man, I adooore key lime pie, or lemon pie. I'm not that much ofa fan of cherry... i guess cherry just seemed to work for this pupose. Hope you liked the Gillaam? I love Sakura/Tomoyo, and for I consider Subaru/Tsukasa as... kinda shoujo. More like straight with shoujo personalities. O.O I'm confusing myself. Anyway... **

**Long Forgotten Howl: Well, here's the Gillaam. And while i try to come up with a Tetheus/Kitchel ficlet, I do have a chapter in Bittersweet Sword that has the pairing, (It's Tetheus' chapter... um, obviously...) I'll see what Feegi/Ruwalk nonsense I can come up with soon too :smiles:**

**Dark-Birdie::hands Gillaam over: Hope you liked. :blinks: Hey... that's not a bad idea... man... Alfeegi SHOULD have given that pie to Ruwalk... and he was just laughing cause he saw Feeg pie Kaistern and thought it was funny. lol. **

**Lim: Well... general vote was Gillaam, but you'll get your RathThatz next, promise :smiles: And Ruwalk just happened to walk in. Yes, it was random... **

**Old Fiat: Well, if you don't read the snippets as it is, does it really matter which one I post? You needn't have voted. Really. ... And please, as if we haven't established the fact that you don't like shounen-ai, there's no need to repeatedly state your hatred for 'gay ff' and how much they suck. **

**Kage: Lol, I'm happy you found it so funny. I wasn't sure if it would be humourous or not, humor's not really my strong point, I really have to rack my brain for it. Lol. And it's pathetic cause I'm a basket of funny randomness in school (what kind of a friggin description is that?), while at home it's mostly sarcastic, but... when it comes to writing, I have no idea what humor is... **

**Puppy: Alfeegi sure can hold a grudge, can't he? Your coin's psychic! It determined the winner of the votes::laughs:**

**Alright, so next is the ThatzRath, and I'll figure out a TetheusKitchel soon too. :bows: Next snippet at... 320::nods: Tata! **


	33. Hiding: ThatzRath

**Sorry it took so long... I'm such a lazy writer, lol. And I have soooo mcuh homework, it's insane. And a speaking test in French tomorrow :gulp: BTW, late victory dance about reaching 300+ reviews! **

**Warnings: Thatz/Rath shounen-ai... **

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**_Dragon Knight Snippets: Hiding_**

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"Hm… I wonder where Rath is…" Thatz scratched his head distractedly, "Really, you'd think after _years_ of this happening, he'd just give up and go to his lessons without putting up a fight… Rune's the one who knows where he hides anyway!"

Yes, he was a bit disgruntled. Here he was, looking for Rath so he could happily escort the Fire Knight to Alfeegi's lessons. And Rune, who usually took it upon himself to accomplish this particular Rath-related task, was off on a mission. Thatz preferred hiding rather than seeking- it was something he was especially good at, a skill honed through a childhood spent evading angry shop-owners after successful swipes.

"So…. Where to look? If I was Rath, on a really hot summer day, avoiding lessons… where would I go?"

Thatz figured somewhere around the gardens was a good place to start, at least. The air was heavy with humidity and the scent of the flowering trees. The green-haired knight lifted his hand to shield his eyes from the sun as he glanced up at the trees laden with flowers and the barest hints of budding fruits.

A sprig of red contrasting sharply with the green leaves and pastel yellow flowers caught his attention, and he grinned. Stepping underneath the relieving shade of the tree, he looked up to find Rath sitting comfortably among the sheltering branches of the tree, hands tucked behind his head as a make-shift pillow.

"Well, well… let's find a special way to get him off there."

OoO

A couple minutes later, Thatz returned from a short trip inside the castle with a fishing pole and an alarm clock. Tying the alarm clock to the fishing line, he raised the pole, letting the alarm clock hang an arm's length from the knight's sleeping face. He suppressed a devilish chuckle and watched Rath's face carefully, mentally counting down. _Three, two, one…_

_RRRRIIIIIIIING!_

Rath's body jumped, and he mumbled something and reached out to shut the offending item off -effectively rolling off the branch.

"Oh shoot…" Thatz muttered as Rath plummeted down to earth.

_CRASH_

Thatz had forgotten that he was right underneath the spot where Rath would fall. Rath's now-all-too-awake face seemed to be in shock, and Thatz had a moment to feel soft lips crushing his almost painfully, a pale hand stuck uncomfortably between his chest and the small body pressing down on his, limbs tangled together. Then Rath seemed to snap out of his numbness with a violent shudder, his face heating up and his eyes seeking privacy underneath his bangs. The warmth of his lips was torn away fromThatz'sface abruptly.

The Fire Knight scrambled off with unneeded urgency, leaving Thatz rubbing his chest painfully and feeling mildly hurt at Rath's reaction.

"Well, that was a boon to getting you off the tree," Thatz muttered, licking his lips absently, trying to recapture the fleeting feeling of Rath's lips on his.

Rath's ruby eyes were wide with horror, and Thatz felt his stomach sink at the sight of them.

"What, did you not like it?" he knew he sounded defensive, but couldn't help it. Rath lowered his eyes even further to stare fixedly at the ground, "Well, I did," Thatz snapped, feeling his world crashing down as an uncomfortable silence descended upon them like molasses, and the sight of Rath's downcast eyes.

"I… I did too," the small voice was thinner than thread, trembling with fear and another emotion, and Thatz's surprise was replaced with confusion and concern.

"Rath?" he hesitated before reaching out to touch the knight's face, smoothing his fingers over the pale skin.

"But… you _know_… about me."

It broke Thatz's heart to hear the misery and distress, the self hatred in Rath's quiet voice, and he frowned.

"Know? Know what about—" his eyes widened in realization, and he lifted Rath's chin roughly to look into wide crimson eyes swimming with insecurity.

"So? You think I care?" his lips ghosted over the corner of Rath's mouth as his tone softened and hewhispered, "You think that makes a difference in how I feel?"

Rath's eyes remained wide, as if processing the words, and the silence drifted about them in waves of tension. Thatz's hopes rode on the flower petals the wind carried through the space between their faces.

The Fire Knight's grip tightened on the folds of Thatz's shirt. His face seemed to contort with a mix of relief and confusion, and with his next breath, was buried deep in the warm enfolds of the Earth Knights arms.

* * *

So there's the ThatzRath. I'll try my hand at either a RathKharl, TetheusKitchel, or a NadilLyk that I have swimming in my head. Whichever one you want first.

Puppy: Well, not to reveal spoilers but... YES! He does::squeals: I have scans too, of him and Gil, so if you want them, tell me and I'll email them to you. Glad you liked them. The battle scene I really didn't bother with, since if wasn't the main point of the fic, so I just slacked off on it. Lol.

Vera-chan: Bad-ass Gil :Huggles: He's such a great character, cause he can be all tough and icy-cool with a snappy mouth, as well as the most adorablekitten on _earth_. :hides him in her special closet where only she can have him: And I bet when (or if, lol) we find out more stuff about Ram, my portrayal of him will be totally wrong.

Kage: Yay! You liked! You and Capella are the ones I try to please the most with my Gillaams, so I'm glad you like them.

Schnickledoodle: Um... did I spell that right? Anywyay, I'm happy you found them so funny. I try. Hard. Cause I suck at humor. But yes, I'll try to come up with a Kharl/Rath one.

Long Forgotten Howl::grins: He does reappear. I have scans if you want me to email them to you. :huggles Ram: Love him to death, he's the funnest character to write. :cries too: Poor Gil baby! My sister almost cried when I told her his life story, lol.

Lim: Who doesn't love all-adorable Ram? Lol.

Aquajogger: LOL. I kept their 'sign of maliness' intact, to quote Lagoon Engine. :cracks up:Well, if I ever castrate them, please tell me. Lol. :Shrug: I guess I put up well with annoying reviewers cause by the time I post and respond, the annoyance has worn off and I don't relly give a flip. But yeah, it ticks me off too. Lol, yes P-BAM. That's how I say it too, cause it's too long a name... Did you sleep well, at least, since you were so tired when you reviewed? Lol. I could justsee Alfeegi as the revengeful type when it came to silly grudges. ... I was mentioned in your paper? How the heck does that come about::blink: Not that I'm mad, I'm just wondering how a fanfic author gets mentioned in a school english paper. "and speaking about this, there was afanfic with my two favoreite characters making out, andthe author, etc etc etc..." :laughs:

Dark-birdie: Wow, that's right, I haven't down a Ruweege :likes name: In a while. So I'll keep that in mind too::writes it down:

Capella: Argh, I hate it when my computer screws up and I have to rewrite a review! What's your first fave shounen-ai pairing? I had fun writing Overprotective!Gil, lots of fun. Think I'll use it more often, lol. That is so true, why even bother getting Tsukasa's gender straight when we have an anime/game liek Sukisyo where the seme guy looks like a girl and the uke's the one who looks manly? That really confused me, lol. I'm really glad you like the Gillaam, as mentioned above (like, another-review-above) you and Kage are the ones I try to please with my Gillaams.

THANKS EVERYONE! Next snippet: 330.


	34. Beneath: LykNadil

**Ooh, Nadil/Lykouleon, though this one's very difference from the other one. Enjoy!**

Warnings: Nadil's not exactly pure of language, is he? Implied shounen-ai, and as a side note, this is when Lyk was a prince, so that'sbefore Rath and Rune and the current cast, so that's why the fire knight isn't Rath. 

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**_Dragon Knight Snippets: Beneath_**

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Nadil's cape swished in rhythm to his steps as he crossed the courtyard, heading for the Fire Knight who leaned lazily against the railing of the courtyard steps. Stopping in front of the knight, he gazed coldly at the boy.

"Lazilius, do you know where the Prince is?"

The light-haired boy blew a bang out of his face, "He decided to go on an escapade again, I hear."

The violet-haired Wind Knight barely managed to suppress the urge to roll his eyes. That damn, whimsical Lykouleon.

Lazilius looked at him with as straight a face as he could— that boy had always been a fool, but he knew to be careful around Nadil, of that, the future Youkai king had made sure, "He went out the east end," he pointed at said direction, and continued, "But His Majesty will definitely figure out that the Prince escaped again once he finds out that you're gone too."

Nadil's eyes glinted dangerously as he raised a brow, "Why would that be?"

Lazilius shrugged, "You always follow him, don't you?"

The crimson-eyed youkai stopped short, and the Fire Knight seemed to realized that he'd said something clearly displeasing to his fellow knight, though he couldn't figure out what, and backed away.

"Um, I gotta go find Darrel for some stuff he wanted me to do…" he excused himself and went off in an imaginary race to find the White Officer, leaving Nadil to ponder his words.

It made him seem like he yielded to that fool Lykouleon's every whim. His supposed devotion to the Prince was not out of mere affection, or even duty, but only of pure gain. Someday, when the current King died and Lykouleon took the throne, Nadil would betray him and take over all of Dusis. The Youkai kingdom would fall easily under his command, and with them he'd be able to obliterate any opposition he encountered from the human realm. It was a perfect plan, and all Nadil had to do was convince the Prince that he was loyal to him. A little seduction helped as well, of course, and the Prince was as sure as a puppet in his hands.

Growling shortly as he replayed Lazilius' words in his head, he turned around and headed off to the east end of the castle.

OoOoO

Nadil's eyes narrowed as he walked through the dense underbrush of the castle's surrounding forest. Up ahead was a clearing Lykouleon favored particularly— it aggravated Nadil to realized that he actually knew what spots the young prince was fond of, but he reminded himself that knowing his enemy was the best advantage he'd have later on.

The wind shifted, cold and biting, though the day was clear, and Nadil's pace quickened as he picked up a demon's scent ahead. He forced himself to slow down, there was no need to worry yet. But the quicker he reached the miscreant prince, the better then chances were that Lykouleon would not be attacked.

Not that he cared…

A short cry broke out from ahead, and Nadil's pulse quickened, though he wasn't sure why. Adrenaline, possibly? If that damn prince got hurt… Nadil mentally shook his head and rephrased the statement—if that damn prince got _killed_. It really didn't matter to Nadil if he got hurt, since that interfered with his plans in no way. Still… his body subconsciously sped up. The branches whipped as his face and snagged at his clothes, but for once, it didn't seem to matter.

Bursting into the clearing, he quickly assessed the situation. Lykouleon lay on the ground, his shirt soaked with the blood that dripped from his side, his face pale and grimacing. The bulky youkai that stood above him, ready for another strike, seemed oblivious to Nadil's sudden arrival, only looking hungrily at the blonde boy helpless at his feet. His sharp claws were raised high into the air. A wave of panic bolted through Nadil.

The violet-haired knight swore shortly, dashing forward to intercept the attack at the last moment without a second thought. The claws slashed a clean gash across his arm, and Nadil hissed in pain. Unsheathing his sword, he drove it mercilessly into the youkai's body, giving it a rough twist for good measure and the satisfaction of hearing the tortured cry of pain.

He kicked the carcass on the ground, sheathing his sword to inspect his wound. It stung, but it was not serious, at least. Still,why in the seven hells had he rushed in like that? Lykouleon would not have died from that one blow, so what had happened to drive his common sense out the window and make him senselessly try to … save the Prince? Had he actually been worried? Nadil refused to believe it. He couldn't understand it—he'd actually willingly hurt himself just to protect that fool of a dragon Prince? What the hell had he been thinking? There was nothing Nadil hated more than senselessness and emotions, and that was what had governed his action at that moment.

"N-Nadil…?" he heard the shaky voice behind him and whirled around,and he had the urgeto punch the living daylights out the object of his confusion, but stopped short as he saw the pale, blood-splattered face, concerned emerald eyes focused on his.

_Damn it._ He turned around and punched a tree, growling savagely in frustration. Why could be not bring himself to hurt Lykouleon? He told himself it was because he needed the Prince to be able to accomplish his goals, but that hadn't been the reason, had it? Even the future youkai king knew better. But then… _why?_

"Are... you alright?"Nadil heard the shifting of clothing, the ragged gasp of pain and the shallow panting that followed but resisted the urge to turn around. He had to be alright if he was talking, after all.

There was a hand on his shoulder, leaning unnaturally heavilyon him,and Nadil turned around in time to catch Lykouleon as he fell and lowered him to the ground. The Prince held his side tightly, blood still pouring steadily from it,and looked up at Nadil through glazed eyes, his body trembling with effort. Nadil tensed slightly as he realized that the wound might have been more serious than he'd thought.

"I- I'm sorry… you told me not to leave the castle…" Lykouleon gasped as he tried to sit up, instead falling limp in Nadil's arms once again, his breathing redoubled. He struggled to continue, "I'm sorry… you got... hurt."

Nadil gritted his teeth, wondering if it was worth even opening his mouth—"It wasn't your fault, your Highness," too late, he'd spoken anyway. Why had he even said that? It _was_ the damn prince's fault.

"I'm taking you back now, you must see the doctor, " he added shortly, before hehadanother chance to say something foolish,and the prince nodded slightly before his eyes closed, the hand clutching Nadil's shirt relaxing. Nadil reached out to touch his face and frowned... how many times had he not traced the almost-feminine slopes of the young prince's face when seducing him? Butthis was the first time Nadil had done so without an intent beneath.

The youkai knight gazed at the limp body for a moment, before picking him up and heading back to the castle, subconsciously pressing the prince's body closer to him.

* * *

**O.o oookaaaaaaay. Tell me if you thought Nadil was in character at _all_. I think I like seductive!Nadil better... **

**Puppy: Oh, right, right, I have to send you the scans! So sorry, I forgot! I'm glad you liked. **

**Kage: Insecure!Rath is cute! He just has such a cute face... **

**Reviewer: Thank you! **

**Angstluver: Hope you liked this NadilLyk!**

**Aquajogger: Thanks. I love hide and seek! It was one of my fave games as a little kid. Hm, more rushed? Going by how I felt about that one, then this one probably feels similar, doesn't it? Ugh, school IS a pain.. i have an AP test Wed and Thurs... rawr...**

**Old Fiat: Good thing a lot of us don't feel it's a waste of time then. Schizophrenic's the spelling.**

**ME: who's ME? And is that a good thing or not...::shrug: **

**Capella: Omg, that's hilarious! And the funny thing is, that's the pairing that introduced me to shounen-ai in the first place! (Then again, it's cause I had seem some doujinshi scans and thought they were from the manga, and so thought Hiei and Kurama WERE a couple, (you can just guess what the doujinshi had)and was a bit confused at first with the whole idea of shounen-ai, then came to accept it and squeal, then was disappointed to find out it wasn't canon... lol, long story) As an inside joke (and to creep her out a bit, cause she's not fully accepting of shounen-ai) me and my friend called each other Hiei and Kurama, with her being Kurama and me Hiei, and I'd call her that EVERYWHERE (she refused to call me Hiei, cept once or twice, lol). To the point that one classmate asked me what the heck I was calling her. I told him to ask her, lol. Anyway... :huggles the HieiKurama-ness: I love them too. :looks at long response: sorry bout that! I guess we all tend to rant about our favorite pairings. **

**Dark-birdie: Wow, I'm glad you thought so! That's a really high compliment for me, when ppl like a snippet with a pairing they don't normally like. And... hm, I have the ... er, theory? Whatever, the mindset that both ppl in a couple can be uke or seme in different circumstances, in fact, one the things I like writing is uke as seme- though I don't really see it as uke/seme so much as dominant-submissive in a relationship. So yeah, I think that even if for the most part there's once dominant figure, the roles can be reversed, and I LOVE doing that. Ex, Satoshi and Daisuke from DNAngel- I love Daisuke as dominant. So... um, to answer your question finally, I like both RA and AR, and to me it's the same, (soI use AR and RAinterchangeably)itjust depends on the situation :points to snippet 'Getting in the Mood': I was purposely making Alfeegi seme there. Sorry for the rant!**

**Howl: Here's the LykNadil! Lol, you cried? I didn't ... but it still makes me sad! Hope you liked this one... :sweatdrop:**

**Verg: I'm gonna try doing a Kitchel/Tetheus sometime soon as soon as I get a good scene for it. Thank you so much!

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**

**Thanks everyone! Next will be... either KitTetheus, ThatzRune, or... KaiTetheus, or something :sweatdrop: **


	35. Faults at Lost: TetheusKaistern

**Baaaack! Sorry for the long update time. And its Tetheus/Kaistern instead of the TetheusKitchel I thought I'd come up with. I'll come up with _something_ for them...**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this snippet. I don't have enough time to write responses back right now, but I might re-edit and add them in, or do them next snippet. Will answer one question though- seme and uke stand for longer words (forgot them) but basically mean giver (couldn't come up with a better word) and receiver, in terms of... sex (yes, i'm slightly squeamish about it :laughs:). So basically, top and bottom in sex. :feels vulgar: Like I said though, I see it more as dominant-submissive, and feel that it depends on the situations which is which. **

**Warnings: light shounen-ai**

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**_Dragon Knight Snippets_**

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Tetheus couldn't sleep. The rain that had continued relentlessly over the past few days made him restless and uneasy. All he could think of was that the rain that beat against the window and splattered on the flowers hanging outside the windowsill was the same rain that was now washing away the blood that had been spilt on the battlefield of the war that they had just lost. A pounding rhythm that seemed to vaguely match his heart's.

He reached out to touch the window, shivering slightly as he touched the ice-cold glass. The dull window was the only source of light in the room, masking everything in fuzzy edges and malformed shapes.

One specific shape on the bed stirred, Tetheus heard the covers shift and slide with that static-like noise and heard the whispered swear about how cold it was. Reasonable, since the body was wearing nothing more than pants and had been wrapped up warmly in the covers all night.

"Tetheus? What are you doing up?" Kaistern's voice was confused, a tint of curiosity giving way to concern as the Black Officer found that he had no wish to speak.

"You're supposed to be in bed, you know. You're hurt! The doctor said to rest, you shouldn't push yourself too hard," Tetheus heard the light creaking of the bed as Kaistern stood, heard the padded footsteps across the stone floor and another swear in reference to the cold.

"Standing up is not pushing myself compared to fighting with this wound, and many of my men fought with fatal injuries," had it been daytime, and the situation not quite so somber, there would have been a wry smirk on the Black officer's face. But right now he didn't even bother glancing at Kaistern, his eyes focused on the rain that slid down the glass, rivulets joining others to form a growing pool at the bottom.

"That still doesn't mean it's good for you," Kaistern muttered quietly, stepping behind Tetheus to wrap his arms around his waist loosely, knowing that Tetheus would not want to be smothered at the moment. A small smile pulled at his lips as Tetheus' body sagged backwards on him inch by painfully slowinch—any admittance of tiredness was good. Eventually it would help Kaistern coax Tetheus back into bed.

"Kaistern…"

"Mm?" the Blue Officer held back a yawn, shifting just a bit so that more of Tetheus' weight would fall on him.

"You can't help me."

Kaistern rolled his eyes as Tetheus continued to avoid his gaze, and rested his chin on his partner's shoulder, kissing the bare skin, "Maybe I can't, but maybe you can help yourself by talking about it."

Kaistern was sure Tetheus would refuse, but it was all a process. He removed his arms from Tetheus and stepped back, sitting in a chair. Thesudden lack of bodily supportwas enough to shake Tetheus out of his lethargy and he subconsciously followed suit at Kaistern's motion and sat down as well, his body sinking with exhaustion.

There was a long moment of silence, and Kaistern knew that Tetheus knew that he'd stay sitting in that chair until _something_ was resolved. Kaistern would let Tetheus mull over his thoughts and compose himself as long as he needed, but Tetheus knew that he'd have to talk eventually. Kaistern watched his eyes carefully, noting with increasing concern the distraught barrage of emotion that whirled inside those tortured crimson orbs.

"I failed Lykouleon," Kaistern wanted to immediately refute that, but listened for the rest, "We lost hundreds of soldiers, it was the worst defeat we've had in two thousand years almost," Tetheus leaned back tiredly and placed a hand over his bandaged chest as he gazed at the blank ceiling with similar eyes, "I led them wrong."

"Someone has to lose in a war. There is no general with a perfect record. Lykouleon may be saddened by the deaths, but he's saddened for _you_ as well. He doesn't blame in on you. Truth be told, I think he doubted a victory from the beginning, but there was no way he could back out of it."

"I should have _known_ they'd come from behind! It was so obvious looking back on it!" Tetheus pounded the arm of the chair with a frustrated growl, wincing as the movement jolted his wound.

Kaistern bit his lip, "Easy, don't be so hard on yourself," he hated seeing Tetheus like this. It was odd to be slapped with the reality of Tetheus' emotions when he was so good at hiding them. It was hard to see the comforter need to be comforted.

"Hard on _myself_?" Tetheus scoffed, and Kaistern hated the self-loathing he saw in his eyes, "Because of me, Rath, Thatz and Rune got hurt!"

"Better than dead, and they don't blame you either. Mistakes occur," he was almost pleading at this point.

"Not with such high stakes!"

Kaistern winced, and lowered his eyes to the ground, "So you're saying I should be blamed for screwing up my assignment too?"

Tetheus immediately stopped, "Of course not. That wasn't your fault."

Kaistern stood up, eyes flashing in the dim light as he tried to make Tetheus understand, "Exactly, this wasn't your fault either!"

The Black Officer, placed his head in his hands, hunched over, and it was one of the few times Kaistern had ever seen him admit weakness, "But it was."

"It was not!" Kaistern knelt in front of the other man, lifting his face from his hands, "You can't become fixated on the past. Mourn it, but you need to get over it. If you let it hamper you in the future, then your mistakes will just be repeated. Everyone messes up at one time or another… your men died an honorable death, and even if we lost the war, you managed to protect what you were supposed to."

Tetheus's gaze resembled that of a lost child's, breaking Kaistern's heart as he tried to accept his words. Kaistern placed his hands on Tetheus' squeezing them gently.

"Come to bed," he stood up and led Tetheus back to their bed, getting in and motioning for Tetheus to follow. The Black Officer seemed to stand dumbly for a moment, before closing his eyes and getting in himself. He let Kaistern wrap his arms around him, and buried his face in the crook of the albino's neck, closing his eyes.

Kaistern knew that it wasn't completely fixed, but enough so that Tetheus would be able to come to terms with it on his own now. Kaistern would make sure of it.

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**The inspiration struck me. I'm actually pretty satisfied with it. Anyway, next snippet at 349. Thanks a lot everyone!**


	36. Blood

**Woooo... long absence. Oh well. I just got suddden inspiration. Enjoy!**

**Warnings: none**

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**_Dragon Knight Snippets_**

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The door opened with a slow creak, and Kaistern jumped at the sudden noise.

"Kaistern?"

The Blue Officer smiled tiredly, motioning for the young child with wide crimson eyes to step in. Rath hesitated timidly before running across the room, jumping onto Kaistern to give him as big a hug as his small arms would allow, not hearing the sharp hiss of pain the older man let out.

"I missed you, Kaistern!" he mumbled, burying his face into the thin folds of Kaistern's shirt.

"Me too, kiddo," Kaistern smiled, tousling the kid's hair affectionately.

"You were gone for a long time."

Kaistern laughed, "It was only a week," he paused, "But I guess considering you're only a month old… that would seem like a long time."

Rath's eyes wandered from his face to the ground, and he looked back a Kaistern, his round face troubled, "What's that?"

Kaistern looked to see the bandages he'd just finished changing lying on the floor, bloodstainedand dirty.

"Those are bandages. I didn't feel like getting up to throw them away yet," he was slightly wary, wondering if this was a dangerous topic to thread on, considering Rath had only been 'created' a month ago, and as so, was very new to the world.

"What's that red stuff?" Rath's wide eyes were curious, naïve.

Kaistern hesitated, "Blood."

"What's that?"

"It's a liquid that runs inside your body. You need it to live. If you lose too much, it's bad," he shifted Rath onto a more comfortable position on his lap, so that he wasn't touching his wound. Rath was oblivious.

"…Do I have some?"

"Of course. All living things have blood, well, except for plants…" Kaistern wasn't a scientist, so he wondered if he giving the wrong explanations… oh well. Didn't matter at this point in the kid's life.

"Why did it come out?"

Kaistern rubbed his eyes tiredly, "Well, blood comes out when you get hurt," he realized that probably wasn't a very good thing to say, as Rath might get scared when he got his first bruise or scrape, which Kaistern was surprised he hadn't yet, seeing how daring adventurous a kid he was, "Like here," he took off a band-aid on his finger, where he'd gotten a small paper cut a couple days ago. There was only a thin scab left, "See? Just cause it bleeds doesn't mean it's serious. But you should always see Cernozura or someone if you get hurt."

Rath sat still for a long time, his gaze alternating between Kaistern and the bloody bandages on the floor. He then raised his arm, poking it gently, and then again and again, increasingly harder every time.

"It takes a bit more than that to make you bleed," Kaistern said amusedly.

Rath stopped and looked up, "So is bleeding bad?"

"Well… yes, because it means you're hurt. But like I said, it doesn't mean that anything serious has happened.

Rath seemed to understand his words, but not really _understand_. It was of course something he'd have to experience for himself, falling and scraping his knee or something similar, to really understand. For the moment, Kaistern wasn't sure if he'd even done correctly by saying all that he had, but Kaistern didn't really believe in lying to protect a kid.

"I heard the Alfeegi and Tetheus talking," Rath spoke up after a period of silence, "Alfeegi asked how you were, and Ruwalk said you had a nice gash. What's that mean

Here, Kaistern hesitated. He figured though, that this would happen often enough that there was no point in shielding Rath from the fact that people got hurt. He didn't need to see Kaistern's wound, it really wasn't very pretty, but Kaistern didn't feel it was right to lie. Besides, what was he supposed to say?

"Well, Ruwalk didn't mean nice as in good but nice as in…" well, why confuse the kid on the uses of the word 'nice', especially since here it meant a pretty _big_ gash, "It means I got hurt. Along here," Kaistern motioned a small part of the length of the gash that ran across his chest, "It's not that bad, though, so you don't need to worry about it."

Rath's wide innocent eyes blinked a couple times, and then he reached a small white hand up to touch his chest. Kaistern waited for possible painful experimentation on Rath's part, but the touch was very tender, barely tangible.

"Does it hurt?"

Kaistern grinned, "Only when I breathe," Rath's eyes widened, and Kaistern laughed lightly, "Just kidding. No, it's not that bad."

"How did you get hurt?"

Now this was a subject Kaistern wanted to avoid. Rath did not need to know about war, or greed, or assassination plots against traveling politicians. Rath didn't need to know that there were bad people out there who wanted to hurt others. He would eventually find out, everyone did, but he was only a month old. And with Rath, death and the dark side of people's… or a creature's… hearts was a tricky matter that none of them, not even sensible Lykouleon, were sure how to breach with Rath. They weren't sure of possible reactions from his demon side, deeply locked as it was. There were some things that a child did not need to be shielded from, but there were some things that had a right place and a right time, and this was not it for this particular subject.

"It was an accident. I fell off the carriage."

"Oh," Kaistern wasn't sure if Rath had bought the excuse. On the surface it seemed like he did, but there was something in the back of Kaistern's mind that did not agree with that assumption. Rath was a strange kid, they figured it had to do with his demon side, whose intuition was often far beyond that of a child's.

The door opened for the second time since Kaistern had gotten home, and this time Tetheus' tall, dark figure stepped into the room. His scarlet eyes caught sight of Rath and he raised his eyebrows, glancing at Kaistern.

"You've barely been here an hour and he already came to see you," Tetheus seemed amused by this, but stopped as he took in Kaistern's obvious exhaustion.

"Hi Tetheus!"

"Rath, come with me. Let's leave Kaistern to take a nap, he's tired from his trip," the Black Officer said in what Kaistern thought was a very motherly tone.

Rath looked at Kaistern, "Are you sleepy? It's only the middle of the day!"

Kaistern smiled apologetically, "Yeah, but it's been a long trip. This old man needs a nap."

Rath seemed puzzled, but Tetheus took a hold of his hand, stopping any more questions, and ushered him out the door. He turned to the Blue Officer before closing the door.

"You might want to get rid of those," he pointed at the bandages, and Kaistern grinned sheepishly, "I'll see you tomorrow when you wake up, we want to know what happened."

Kaistern yawned widely, wincing slightly afterwards, and nodded, "Sure thing, see ya."

There was an audible "Bye Kaistern!" from the other side of the door, and Tetheus smiled slightly, then the door closed.

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**:Shrug: I remember thinking of this snippet a while ago, but yesterday I just decided to write it up. Hope it was... interesting at least. I figure you probably expected something a lot more dramatic cause of the summary, but I thought this would be more of a slice-of-life type snippet than a huge drama thing. I wanted to play with a young naive Rath a bit more. **


	37. Waking up: Gillaam

**Well... um, it's been a LONG time since I've updated. I guess I just lacked inspiration... I still do, but forced myself to write this... sorry if it doesn't seem up to par. **

**Warnings: Fluff, Gillam. **

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**_Dragon Knight Snippets: Waking Up_**

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I was used to being woken by Ram. He was an early riser, and to my exasperation, he seemed unable to hold himself back from waking me up to relieve his boredom, or loneliness. The days he had something mundane enough to keep himself occupied so that he didn't need to wake me up to show me the new flower he'd found outside, or the snowman he'd built in the snow, or some other silly thing, he'd decided that it was amusing to wake me up anyway. So he'd devised new and interesting ways (for him, at least) to rouse me from my sleep. He was like a child that could not repress the need for having someone around to show off to, to hang on to like an attention-starved child. For all the exasperation it caused me for being unable to sleep in the extra hours I craved, it was rather an endearing quality. 

He was always petting me and calling me cute, and constantly complimenting me with some other observation about how adorable I am. I think he's insane. Then again, I like being treated with the affection he showers me with, so I'm not about to complain. I don't know how he doesn't see that _he's_ the one with the adorable traits.

The way he hummed as he cooked, or the way he'd smile at me from underneath the covers when it was cold, or how he'd beg me to come out for a walk with him were just some of the moments when I would stop and just stare at him, taking and digesting the flash of feeling that sprouted from noticing those small traits of his. I often acted exasperated and made rather sarcastic remarks, but I loved his impatience for going outside when it was raining, or how he'd complain of the cold he'd get when he went out while it was still pouring outside, even though he'd been completely excited the whole time.

I liked watching him when he was reading. His magnetic personality was also a very candid one, and I liked to watch the expressions on his face as he read. Sometimes, in a particularly funny book, he would stop to read me a certain passage, and I would sit and just barely let my amusement show on my face, turning my face away save for occasional glances to acknowledge his words.

My favorite expression on his face was surprise. His eyes were so large and jewel-like, unlike my single, jaded eye, which provided very little in expression. That was why, one morning when the songs of the birds had somehow managed to rouse me so that there was no chance of my falling asleep again, and I noticed that Ram was still slumbering peacefully next to me, there was something I could do.

Carefully, I slipped out of bed, leaving the warm covers, shivering slightly. I turned on the faucet in the kitchen to cold, and dipped my hands in it until the freezing water had almost numbed them. I then went back to bed.

I'm sure it's not hard to figure out what came next. Leaning over him, I bent down to kiss his lips lightly just as I pressed my freezing hands on his bare chest, and his eyes flew open like gunshots had been fired.

"Giiiil!"

Yes, considering the adorable expression of surprise on his face, I guess I couldn't blame him doing the same to me everyday.

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**Yeah, and this is also in first person, which I've never done for a snippet before... :shrug: I'll make sure to make the next one worthwhile, sorry for the not-so-goodness of this one. **


	38. Mistaken Identity

**Next snippet! A rather amusing one I wanna do one of all the character's childhoods... though this doesn't fit into that category, it's a first-meeting type one. Enjoy!**

**Warnings: none. **

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**_Dragon Knight Snippets: Mistaken_**

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Rath only had one day to realize Lykouleon was gone. He didn't ask why, he didn't really care, he was probably at some political reunion with other kingdoms or something. It took three weeks for him to come back though, and he wasn't alone.

There was a little faerie elf with him.

Alright, so he wasn't really little, but that had been Rath's first impression of him anyway. Upon hearing that there was a guest staying in the permanent-resident knight's quarter —the room right down the hallways from his, in fact— Rath's insatiable curiosity was piqued.

The door was like, which Rath found odd, but he shrugged to himself and tried to peek underneath the heavy wooden door, but all he could see were tiny booted feet. So he tried looking through the keyhole. It was vague, but he could see, just outside the limited field of vision the tiny keyhole gave him, long golden hair. Then the head turned around, allowing him a cut-off view of an effeminate, almost babyish, face, and large crystal blue eyes.

"Rath!"

The little fire knight jumped a mile high to face Ruwalk, who looked at him with a mix of bemusement and disapproval before grinning, "You know better than to stalk people, right, kid?"

"But Ruwalk, I wanna see who it is!" Maybe if Rath whined pitifully enough, Ruwalk would give in, as often happened.

Ruwalk simply ruffled his hair and plucked him by the collar, dragging him towards his bedroom, "Don't worry, you'll get to meet our guest eventually."

Rath wrestled out of his grip, stuck his tongue out, and went in search of Fire.

So. Their new guest was a little blond girl.

Ew. Well, maybe she could play with him anyway. If she was in the knight's quarter's though… did that mean she was going to live here? And be a knight? Gross, that ruined everything. Rath had a very clear mental picture of him standing victoriously over the carcasses of countless, monstrous demons, the world's most feared demon slayer, in all his glorious goriness. He didn't want a little girl tagging along, crying at the sight of scary demons and being all _sissy_.

It wasn't until two days later that he got to see the elf again.

"I don't _wanna_ go to bed yet!" he crossed his arms, huffing like an authoritative adult. Or at least, like Lyokouleon in one of his sulkier moods.

"Rath…" Kaistern sighed, not in the mood to deal with one of Rath's, "Sorry, but there's no argument tonight. You kids got it so easy, no sharp-tongue diplomatics for you to deal with…"

Rath suddenly let Kaistern's hands push him away while he grumbled, as his mind was distracted by something else.

Shiny, golden hair was what had caught his attention, complementing Alfeegi's slim lock of long aquamarine hair. But now, able to see the elf in full, Rath noticed two things—one, that she was way taller than him, so there went the idea of a playmate. On the other hand, Raseleane wasn't that sissy, she could play in the mud and she didn't faint at the sight of blood. Maybe the older girls became, the less girly they got. On that note, the second things he noticed was that she lacked that… that thing, the shape, the, the… he groped for a word to fill in the blank. The squishy thing girls had on their chest, like Cernozura and Raseleane, and those girls that snuck out of Ruwalk's room every once in a while, they had lots of it.

Oh well, he wasn't sure what it meant that this girl didn't have that—maybe she was only half a girl?—but it didn't really make a difference.

"What are you looking at?" Kaistern blinked, cocking his head at Rath.

"Her!"

"Her?" Kaistern turned to look at the now empty corridor and frowned, "Who are you talking about?"

"That girl with Alfeegi!" Rath stomped his foot.

Kaistern sighed and picked Rath up, "Sure. Let's go to bed," under his breath he muttered, "Now he's seeing things, what is RUwalk feeding him for lunch?"

"I am not! And you fed me today!"

All Rath knew was that the next day, Kaistern came to get him.

"We got someone for you to meet," was all he said, no matter how many questions Rath perstered him with. And he was usually so good at getting some information that way…

"Is it that girl?"

Kaistern looked at him funny, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

_He's delusional_, Fire agreed. Rath muttered something at Fire, and stuck his tongue out.

If it wasn't the girl, then it was probably some silly fat politician who tried to make funny faces and talk to him like he was mentally retarded, or something boring like that. He had better things to think about, like how he could sneak into the laundry room and dye Tetheus' clothes pink.

At that time, they reached Lykouleon's office, and Rath didn't bother looking away from his staring contest with Fire.

"Rath, I'd like you to meet the new Water knight," Lykouleon interrupted, and Rath's head snapped to attention.

"I'm Rune, it's nice to meet you."

Rath gaped, "It's her!"

The blond faerie elf stared, and Lykouleon and Kaistern exchanged a puzzled glance.

"Her?"

"Yeah, that's the girl I was talking about! Can a girl really be a Dragon Knight?"

By this time, both men were trying their hardest not to laugh, for Rune's sake, but it wasn't working out very well. Rune's face was still blank, slightly pale.

"Rath…" Lykouleon had to pause to cover his mouth and stifle his laughter, "I'm sure _he_ will do fine."

Rath blinked and slowly tuned with a puzzled look back to Rune, whose face now looked like a strawberry, whether out of anger or embarrassment, he wasn't sure.

"Oooooh…." The Fire Knight's eyes widened, "So that's why he doesn't have those squishy chest-things girls have!"

Rune looked horrified.

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**Review? Any suggestions/challenges/requests for future snippets?**


	39. Insomnia's Cure

**Dang, it's been forever since I wrote in this fandom. But here's my consolation offering! I originally posted this as a separate fic since it was so long... but I feel like it just fits with the snippets better, despite the length. So ... omg, the snippets are alive again!  
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**Warnings: Some language, implied Kaistern/Tetheus if you want it. **

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**_Insomnia's Cure_**

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Kaistern had picked the worst time to get sick.

He and Tetheus were attending a diplomatic event at Origas, to receive the new Vice-Minister. The previous one had passed away due to questionable causes—the report had said he'd been involved in a regrettable carriage accident, but horses normally ran _away_ from accidents, and did not hang around long enough to trample someone who would have taken their time getting out of the carriage. Nonetheless, it was supposed to be a simply meeting to create liaisons between the new Vice-Minister and the rest of the who's who of the political world. It wasn't important enough to warrant the presence of the Lord of Dusis, though he did appear for a day as he went onto a meeting further away in Hermosa.

Lord Lorray was the fourth Vice-Minister in fifty years, and that was a lot considering the term for office was generally two hundred years. There had been other suspicious rumors and conspiracies going on around Origas, and accidents seemed to occur far too often, and for that reason, Tetheus was accompanying the Blue Officer. To a social event.

It was neither his cup of tea nor remotely near his area of skill as the Black Officer and Secretary of Security. Unlike Kaistern, who twirled words like they were roses and roses like they were inflections of the air. He had a flair that drew others' eyes to him, a wit that shaped his words into dangerous daggers or compassionate handkerchiefs, and then was somehow able to extract himself back into the shadows to accomplish whatever other purposes there were to the visit. He was not merely the representative of Draqueen to foreign countries, he was a spy, an errand boy, a jack-of-all-trades. Tetheus would never deny he had high degree of respect for both Kaistern and his abilities.

As it was, he was currently on one side of the ballroom, sipping from a glass of wine he'd already tested against poison, and watched the crowd with a wary, weary eye. There was a group of young radicals on one corner, but they were far too new and inexperienced to be of any potential threat. The most they would ever be able to come up with was a haphazard plan to overthrow a governor or something minor. There was a pair of individuals that Tetheus had eyed cautiously, but the safety of Anaina Kingdom's Secretary of Foreign Affairs was hardly his concern, and already the security staff of the Secretary, who Tetheus had to admit had done a good job of blending in and disguising their purpose, was closing in on their protégé just in case the pair decided to act tonight after all.

Tetheus kept a sharp lookout on the situation around him, but his main concern was Kaistern. The man, however, had discreetly motioned for Tetheus to back off, because apparently the individual he was trying to pry information out of —Tetheus guessed by the abundance of military medals and the two plainclothes bodyguards that danced inconspicuously around him that he was from Clandestia, as they were known for their strict militaristic regimen—had spotted Tetheus' eye on Kaistern, whether knowing they were both delegates from Draqueen or not, and would not loosen up to Kaistern's satisfaction until his presence was reluctantly bid away. Tetheus was not pleased, if one could understate it as such, but he figured that he could bend to this one whim of Kaistern's for half an hour. Nothing more, nothing less, and he knew Kaistern was aware of his time limit. In the meantime, since he couldn't directly keep a watch on Blue Officer, he'd keep a watch on everything else around him, hopefully accomplishing the same result.

Nonetheless, his glass of wine served as a sufficient mirror when he stood in front of a dark background, and he could pretend he was a wine connoisseur staring thoughtfully at his glass. In truth, he was only copying one of Kaistern's tactics, and felt more ridiculous than anything else, and he had a gnawing feeling that this was a part that was never meant to be played by him. Kaistern would feel either insulted or amused that Tetheus was so severely undermining Kaistern's acting expertise with his poor attempt at mimicking him. Besides, he could barely tell cheap bar wines from the ones being served here, and if it wasn't for color, he wouldn't be able to tell red wine from white. A wine connoisseur was definitely not the wisest choice to dissemble as.

Time was up. Tetheus would make himself shown to Kaistern, who had undoubtedly obtained the valuable information he was seeking by this time. He maneuvered himself to the area where he'd last spotted Kaistern's cap-adorned head, silver hair sticking out in semi-tameness. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the area, and there was no sign of Kaistern. The alarms immediately went off, because Kaistern knew better than to move away from a public area if it wasn't in the plan. And it most definitely was not. This was a simple 'social' visit, during which Kaistern had hoped to gain some information that would help Draqueen's stance on various treaty proposals. Tetheus was here as prevention if any of Origas' many unfortunate situations arose. He was supposedly only precaution.

There was a man making his was over that Tetheus recognized as one of the escorts that had been assigned to him and Kaistern during their stay. He was tempted to ignore him and continue his search, but that would tip off anyone paying attention to the scene that there was something amiss.

"Sir," the man bowed low as was custom, but Tetheus did not acknowledge the gesture, and the man continued without waiting for a response, "Your colleague, Blue Officer Kaistern of—"

"Yes," Tetheus interrupted the long introduction and narrowed his eyes as due clue to get to the point.

"Ah, yes, the Officer has fainted and we thought as his colleague, you should—"

"Lead me to him," he ordered, and the short man stammered some sort of agreement and turned, and his motion to be followed was completely unneeded.

They walked through the hallways quickly, with the escort speeding up steadily, not because he was in a hurry, but because he had to keep ahead of Tetheus' increasingly quicker gait. Tetheus was anything but tactful.

"What exactly happened?" he didn't let anything other than brusqueness seep through his commanding voice, but in his mind were running the endless possibilities— had Kaistern been poisoned? Who was the culprit, and for what reasons? Could it have been a powdered poison in the bed Kaistern had taken a nap in earlier? Tetheus had checked the general premises of the room, but Kaistern had gone straight to bed as soon as they'd arrived, and Tetheus had not been able to test the pillows or covers. What political repercussions would occur from this, were it to turn into something serious? Even worse, what if this was a trap, and they'd already captured Kaistern and were now luring Tetheus in?

"Well, the Blue Officer was speaking to the Fuhrer of Clandestia, and according to him, Lord Kaistern asked to step out to get some fresh air, and that was when he fainted. He was transported to his quarters," if it had been poison on the bed, then it would most likely be gone now, standard procedure of evidence removal.

"Who was around?"

"Ah, the Fuhrer of course, and several other guests," so Kaistern had gone out to one of the public balconies. Tetheus almost damned him for not coming to _him_ if there'd been something wrong—Kaistern knew well the symptoms and possibilities of poisoning— but of course, it would have defeated the purpose of waving Tetheus away to get the trust of the Fuhrer.

"Has a doctor been sent to him?"

"Of course, sir, first thing," first thing should have been to contact _him_ immediately, but Tetheus refrained from saying so. Kaistern would most likely have said it'd be a politically insulting comment.

They reached Kaistern's quarters, and the escort laid his hand on the doorknob and pulled it open. Tetheus tensed, awaiting the worst, and had to consciously force his muscles to relax.

"Tetheus!"

He blinked once at finding Kaistern sitting up in bed, chatting amiably with the doctor, pausing to beckon him forward cheerfully. This was a far cry from what he'd expected, and though he felt at once frustrated and relieved that it was a false alarm, he let his eyebrow lift in puzzlement.

"What is this?" he said, obviously referring to the whole incident in general, and making sure Kaistern recognized the hint of gruffness that indicated he would not be pleased if this had been some stunt he'd pulled for his own amusement.

"That'll be all, thank you," Kaistern turned immediately to Tetheus, thereby discharging the doctor, who inclined his head and left without a further word. Tetheus recognized his offhand manner as a characteristic of the culture of Origas. Tetheus nodded dismissively to the escort as well, and they were finally alone.

"Sorry about that, I'm sure you thought I'd been kidnapped or drugged or something," the casualty with which he said it told Tetheus just how commonplace the danger was to Kaistern, and Tetheus was sure it had occurred to him more times than the few Tetheus himself had had to organize a rescue attempt for, or that the scars on his chest told of.

Tetheus sighed and drew a chair up to the bedside, "Yes, I did. The stunt was not appreciated," his tone lacked any sort of rebuttal or annoyance, because Tetheus noticed the slight tinge of fever rising to flush his washed-out, pale face, and the vague glassiness of his lemon-colored eyes.

"Sorry. I was hoping I'd be able to make it through the night after taking that nap earlier, but I guess I gave out," Kaistern smiled tiredly, and Tetheus was not sure what to make of the contradictory mix of jocularity and self-deprecation, "Human bodies just don't last that long, you know?"

"Yours is not fully human any longer," he muttered stiffly, because he was never sure how to deal with this side of Kaistern.

"Hmm, I suppose, but it seems like it's human enough," Kaistern seemed to notice the disapproval in Tetheus' eyes, his only way of showing his discomfort with the situation, because he artfully changed the direction of the conversation with wanton ease, "Unlike demon bodies. When was the last time you got sick?"

"I can't remember."

Kaistern grinned, rubbing his temple briefly before speaking, "I remember the time you got hung over though. That was priceless," he laughed distractedly, whether in reminiscence or affected by the fever, "Alfeegi was appalled. I think it was Ruwalk who somehow got you to drink that extra couple glasses, right?"

"I seem to remember you having a large part to do with that," Tetheus grumbled, because he did remember that incident, and not quite as fondly as Kaistern.

"I was hoping you'd forgotten that," Kaistern said with a smile that said all too well the contrary.

Tetheus made a noise that was the closest he came to a snort, and watched as Kaistern's eyes momentarily glazed over, and his hand reached out to grab the glass of water at his bedside, far more unsteadily than his words had indicated him to be. Tetheus suspected it had a lot to do with having to master the art of manipulating how others perceived you no matter how drunk you were. Kaistern could probably pretend to be drunk when completely sober and pretend to be sharp and alert when completely plastered.

When Kaistern failed to be able to reach the glass and take hold of it successfully, Tetheus finally took the glass himself and handed it to Kaistern, who took it with both hands, quietly. He then eyed the pill lying on the table and looked back at Kaistern.

"What are they for?"

Kaistern blinked several times to focus his eyes on the foreign writing on the package, "It's aspirin and amphetamine."

Tetheus glanced suspiciously at the packet, and Kaistern read his gaze and laughed softly, "Don't worry. I learned the hard way to carry my own medicine, check in one of the side pockets of the blue bag."

He did, fishing out a similar pack of pills from among bottles of aspirin, anti-oxidant, food rations, antidotes, poison-testers and a plethora of likewise items. Tetheus was impressed, though not necessarily in a positive manner.

"Well prepared, hm?" he popped out one of the pills and passed it to Kaistern, who downed it gratefully and almost spilled the glass when he set it back down without quite enough coordination. Tetheus held back a frown.

"Of course, you never know when a good bit of information can be obtained by spending a couple hours in a bedroom in the shanty part of town," Kaistern apparently thought Tetheus had been talking about something else, and he was glad he hadn't searched that deeply in the bag. He did not appreciate the wit—mistakenly applied, especially, and wondered how much pressure it took to render Kaistern's acting skills useless.

"That's not what I meant," he growled, almost relieved when Kaistern opened his mouth to insert another two-cents and yawned instead, wobbling a bit even sitting up. Tetheus sighed and peered down at Kaistern with something akin to exasperation, "Would you lie down already?"

Kaistern murmured something, his eyelids drooping as the medicine took effect, but complied anyway and laid down, shivering slightly and pulling the covers tighter around himself, "I'm not going to sleep. You tryin' to get rid of me that bad,?" he mumbled, blinking repeatedly to hold off sleep.

"No, but you need to get back on your feet as soon as possible, since I suppose you didn't manage to get the information you were looking for in your state," Tetheus answered neutrally. Kaistern talked too much, and that was why he didn't sleep much, Tetheus decided. No wonder his health was so precarious, and Tetheus did not want to feel responsible for impeding his recovery any further than Kaistern did for himself.

"I did… what kind'av proffesio'l you think I mm?" came the burbled reply, and within a minute, his face relaxed into sleep, save for that slight scrunching of his eyebrows, presumably from the fever. In any case, if Kaistern had obtained his information, and the induction ceremony was over, technically that meant they could cut their visit short, using Kaistern's illness as an excuse. Or, alternatively, without any further obligations, Kaistern could relax here until their visit was officially over.

Tetheus settled back in his chair, lazily picked up the newspaper courteously left in the room, even though he could only recognize a few words, and gave Kaistern a once-over to double check the depth of his sleep. The newspaper eventually ceased to provide him with any information for him to scope out with his limited knowledge of Origan, and he shifted in his chair and looked around the well-decorated room as he ran over the security plans for the new city hall in Draqueen. The distant sounds of the still-ongoing party filtered in even through the walls, just a blur of noise, and Tetheus could see the lights brightening the underside of the balcony rail outside. Inside, incandescent lights gave a soft, yellow hue to the mahogany furniture and salmon coverlets of the beds. He wondered briefly why they had been assigned to different rooms when Kaistern's had two beds.

Nearly an hour later, there was a knock at the door, and after first glancing at Kaistern, who remained obliviously asleep, and checking the time, exits, and sliding one hand closer to the dagger in his belt, he approached the door, standing in front of it so whoever was on the other side wouldn't be able to see Kaistern as he opened the door at a deliberate angle.

"Yes?"

It was just their escort, but Tetheus did not inch his hand away from his dagger, and stood waiting impassively, "My Lord Tetheus, Black Officer of Draqueen, we were just about to ask whether you wished for your quarters to be prepared for tonight at this time."

"No need, I'll be keeping watch over my colleague for a while longer," Tetheus paused, "In fact, I'll be making use of the second bed in this room, so there will be no further need of assistance from you tonight."

The escort's eyes widened slightly, and he blinked as if comprehending something, and quickly bowed and excused himself. Tetheus returned to his less-than-comfy chair and wondered if maybe his words had been a tad rough. He hadn't particularly found them so, but maybe Kaistern would have had something to say about them had he heard them.

He'd been deep into planning the most effective training regimen for this next unruly crowd of trainees he'd received when Kaistern's sudden stirrings and mumblings snapped him back to reality, and he'd watched silently to see whether it was a passing fit or the awakening of consciousness.

It was the latter, as was obvious when the tossing ceased abruptly, and the covers rose and fell at an increased pace. Tetheus stood and peered down at Kaistern's half-lidded eyes.

He finally seemed to gather his bearings, eyes widening frantically as he rose up, "I fell asleep?"

Tetheus frowned, pushing him back, and Kaistern resisted for a moment before sinking down weakly into the mattress, "Yes. You need something?"

Kaistern closed his eyes again and lay like that for a moment before drawing in a deep breath and hoisting himself up to a half-sitting position.

"…Water," he finally mumbled, rubbing his eyes and clearing his throat tiredly as his glassy eyes fought to regain focus of anything. Tetheus fought the impulse to smirk at the lopsided, tangled locks of silver hair that reminded Tetheus of inexperienced soldiers out of formation.

He held the glass for Kaistern to drink out of, tilting it carefully so as to not choke the other officer, but Kaistern somehow still managed to get a dribble of water down his chin nonetheless.

"Feel like a kid…" he mumbled, wiping his face with the back of his hand, and Tetheus reluctantly dropped the napkin he'd picked up for the same purpose. Kaistern sometimes did lack common etiquette, at least when not in the presence of foreign ambassadors or royalty. His lemon eyes squinted at the ornate clock on the opposite wall, "Damn it, didn't wanna fall asleep…Time is it?"

"About eleven. You've only been sleeping for an hour and a half or so."

The silver-haired officer sighed and drew himself up the last couple inches so that he was sitting up properly, "And I suppose you're keeping me company for a while longer?"

Tetheus resisted rolling his eyes as Kaistern's jocular nature took over, even when Tetheus had no intent or wish to play with it.

"Do you have any medicine to make you go back to sleep?" he answered drolly.

Kaistern only laughed in response, making the Black Officer wonder whether he did indeed. He wouldn't be surprised at all if Kaistern was an insomniac or something similar, and had somehow found a way to hide it from them all for the near hundred years they'd known each other. It was just like Kaistern to hide all his problems. Tetheus supposed he was the same way, but it irritated him when it came from Kaistern. He wondered if that was because of a subconscious belief that the Blue Officer was weaker than him, even when Tetheus knew logically that was a complete farce. But maybe he still unconsciously sought to protect him. He watched Kaistern fan himself, looking still rather wan and tired, and his skin had a damp texture to it.

"I can't tell if I'm still hot or not," he whined, after attempting to feel his temperature with the back of his hand, and Tetheus snorted.

"That's why other people normally do it for you," he muttered and removed one of his black leather gloves, choosing to forgo finding a real thermometer for simply placing his hand on Kaistern's uncomfortably warm cheek, shifting it to his forehead as Kaistern groaned softly and closed his eyes.

"Still high," he said, about to remove his hand, but Kaistern's fluttering touch on his arm stopped him.

"Keep it there a second longer," he murmured, eyes still closed. Tetheus hesitated, then sighed mentally and complied, until finally Kaistern leaned his head back, grinning slightly, "Felt good."

"Hn."

"So," Kaistern looked again at the clock, "Have they prepared your room already?"

Tetheus replaced his glove with meticulous care, "No, I told them it wouldn't be necessary. Someone should keep watch over you, and there are two beds here."

Kaistern's eyes widened, and he groaned and slapped a hand to his head, "No way, you mean to tell me you told them you'd be sleeping here?"

"That is what I just told you, is it not?" Tetheus pursed his lips, feeling slightly annoyed with Kaistern's response, "Is there a problem with that?"

"Yeah, they think we're married now!"

Tetheus blinked, and looked at the human closely, wondering if the fever was affecting him, "For what reason?"

"Do you remember that originally it was Lykouleon, Raseleane and me that were coming for this ceremony?" Kaistern began explaining, leaning back heavily into the pillows, as if it was too tiring to sit up straight, "Well, this was Raseleane and Lykouleon's room. A couple's suite. The Origans are extremely reserved, taciturn, and private. To the point that couples normally sleep in separate beds, they pretty much don't talk unless it's necessary, and I mean, c'mon, their sluts insist on keeping their shirts on even during—"

"No need to go any further," Tetheus cut him off, mostly because he did not want a mental picture of Kaistern and an Origan slut, whatever they looked like. He rubbed his temple sorely, "So… what do you propose we do about the misunderstanding?"

Kaistern huffed, pushing the covers away from him uncomfortably, while his tone remained nonchalant, borderline sleepy, "I suppose it's kinda late to do anything. We'd just be inconveniencing them, and now that the assumption's been made, any attempt to change that probably will just seem like we suddenly got embarrassed about it or something…" he looked up, a devilish glint in his eyes that always warned Tetheus that the more playful side of Kaistern's mind was at work, "Or we could live up to it."

Had Tetheus been someone a tad more sensitive, he might have blushed a little, what with Kaistern looking rather flushed and half-dressed, lying sprawled on the bed with a beckoning look in those washed out golden eyes. But if there was something Tetheus wasn't, it was easily flustered.

"No, thank you, I'll leave that to your Origan sluts."

"Ouch, I wasn't expecting you to be so mean about it," Kaistern smiled a little even as he shifted restlessly.

"Just go back to sleep."

Whatever Kaistern was about to quip next was interrupted by a light knock on the door, and Tetheus immediately stood, while Kaistern looked toward the door with mild interest. Tetheus followed procedure again, looked at the clock for logging purposes, and approached the door, hand on dagger.

But upon opening the door, all that stood there was a young Origan child, dark-skinned and light-haired with sharp eyes, holding a tray of food and medicine.

"Courtesy of Origas, we hope that your Lordship is feeling better and feels that no need has gone unfulfilled," the child said brightly, clearly expecting to be let in. With his earlier blunder in custom and culture, Tetheus was not willing to make any move on his own and glanced back at Kaistern, surprised to see his narrowed eyes. Kaistern shook his head marginally, clearly communicating that he would take control of the situation.

"We are satisfied and thank Origas for their hospitality," he spoke in curt, fluid Origan, and the child blinked as if not expecting what Tetheus vaguely recognized a very traditional reply. The child smiled prettily and skipped in, depositing the tray at Kaistern's bedside and looking up curiously at him.

"You don't look like most Dragons I've seen," he said with large eyes, and turned his head to look at Tetheus with a hum, "And you don't either. Are you guys half-breeds?"

Kaistern's eyes flashed dangerously, Tetheus assumed from the question itself, and wondered if it really bothered him that much that he was human. For his part, Tetheus hardly cared what either of them was. They served Lord Lykouleon, and that was similarity enough.

"Nothing further is needed," Kaistern said, keeping his gaze deliberately away from the child, and after a momentary hurt look, the child skipped out again, the door shutting rebelliously.

Kaistern sighed heavily and lay back down on the bed, reaching out to the tray to take a bread roll on it, chomping on it with languid chews, "Can't believe they're using kids…"

"I've never seen you act so coldly to a child," Tetheus ventured to say with a raised eyebrow. Kaistern shook his head tiredly, pushing away the covers even further so they left his slim shoulders and forearms exposed, his protruding collarbone gracefully dipped.

"He was just a ploy to get information on us. Origan children are shy and have been taught to never speak to their elders unless spoken to first. He's been trained against the mold specifically to gather information from representatives who don't know their customs and let their guard down around kids."

He placed a hand over his mouth abruptly and closed his eyes, looking nauseated, the remaining bread falling to the ground. Tetheus looked at it, allowing a hint of worry to seep into his eyes as he picked it up. Anything to get Kaistern to realize he was overstepping his limits, because the damn man never knew when to just quit and save himself. Tetheus had seen this self-denying attitude of his many times over, but it was one of the many subjects Kaistern rarely allowed to be aired out in the open.

"Yesterday was such a bad idea…" Kaistern mumbled faintly, and Tetheus was tempted to ask what it was he'd done yesterday, because it apparently was the root of this sudden illness, but then realized that Kaistern was only baiting him so as to keep the conversation going. What did the man think he was gaining by this?

"Kaistern," he ground out, lifting the human's chin with less force than he'd intended, so that it ended up being more of a gentle upwards tug, and Kaistern blinked blearily, "You will sleep now and attempt to get rid of this cold. Understood?"

To his surprise, Kaistern's eyes shied away, looking like he was at a loss for a moment before nodding with a weary sigh and rolling around. His face was no longer visible to Tetheus, only a pale, skinny expanse of skin, shoulder blades creating a dip that cocooned a trail of scars centered in the hollow of his back and fanning outwards. And then, even that was gone as Kaistern pulled the covers back around his shoulder, sheltering his head so that there was now only a shock of silver hair at the top, that blended with the shimmering white covers. Always blending in.

Tetheus sighed and looked away with a suppressed growl. Despite outward attitude, Kaistern was easily hurt, as had taken Tetheus many long years and awkward conversations to learn. He was afraid he'd maybe ended up saying the wrong thing, but couldn't for the life of him figure out what. He wondered if Kaistern was just moody because he was sick, or if Tetheus had missed some vital clue as to the reason. Maybe he should have given him some more of the medicine that had knocked him out so quickly earlier. Though now that Tetheus thought about it, Kaistern had initially refused to go to sleep then too. What, was Kaistern afraid of something?

"Kaistern," he said suddenly, and maybe it was the softness of his voice, or simply that Kaistern was in a willing mood, but there was a pause, and then a slow rustle of fabric.

"Yeah?"

"What are you avoiding?" he asked clearly, carefully, as if Kaistern was a young animal easily frightened away. Or, to use an example Tetheus was more familiar with, as if Kaistern was Rath when he was younger.

There was a silence that lingered with the sound of skin burying itself deeper into the covers, and then a muffled murmur from within those covers, "Just… I don't feel comfortable when I'm not in control of the situation. I'm sure you can guess that plenty's happened while I was sleeping. But… I guess… if you're here…"

Tetheus found he had difficulty speaking, and reached out slowly to touch the curve that was Kaistern's cloth-draped shoulder, "You know I'm here to protect you," and though those were standard words he'd used with more people than he could remember as Head of Security, for once they were not a formality but an earnest wish, and it unnerved Tetheus with how strong a feeling he said them.

Kaistern shifted his head, a glimpse of lemon eyes finding their way into Tetheus' blood red ones, and then they were gone again, with a heavy, "I know… I've always known."

* * *

**Review to yell at me for the bad ending. ::chu::**


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